A Comparison of Scaffold-free and Scaffold-based Reconstructed Human Skin Models as Alternatives to Animal Use


Kinikoglu B.

ATLA-ALTERNATIVES TO LABORATORY ANIMALS, vol.45, no.6, pp.309-316, 2017 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 45 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2017
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/026119291704500607
  • Journal Name: ATLA-ALTERNATIVES TO LABORATORY ANIMALS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.309-316
  • Keywords: artificial skin, cell self-assembly, collagen scaffold, human skin substitute, polymeric scaffold, skin tissue engineering, IN-VITRO, TISSUE, FIBROBLASTS, BIOMATERIALS
  • Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Tissue engineered full-thickness human skin substitutes have various applications in the clinic and in the laboratory, such as in the treatment of burns or deep skin defects, and as reconstructed human skin models in the safety testing of drugs and cosmetics and in the fundamental study of skin biology and pathology. So far, different approaches have been proposed for the generation of reconstructed skin, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here, the classic tissue engineering approach, based on cell-seeded polymeric scaffolds, is compared with the less-studied cell self-assembly approach, where the cells are coaxed to synthesise their own extracellular matrix (ECM). The resulting full-thickness human skin substitutes were analysed by means of histological and immunohistochemical analyses. It was found that both the scaffold-free and the scaffold-based skin equivalents successfully mimicked the functionality and morphology of native skin, with complete epidermal differentiation (as determined by the expression of filaggrin), the presence of a continuous basement membrane expressing collagen VII, and new ECM deposition by dermal fibroblasts. On the other hand, the scaffold-free model had a thicker epidermis and a significantly higher number of Ki67-positive proliferative cells, indicating a higher capacity for self-renewal, as compared to the scaffold-based model.