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Laboratory Research
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Tissue engineering of skin equivalents: effects of extracellular matrix Judith A. Fulton, Denise Blanco, Elizabeth Marino, Christopher J. Woolverton. The extracellular matrix onto which fibroblasts and keratinocytes are seeded for the engineering of skin equivalents can greatly influence the migration, proliferation and bilayer formation of the cells. A variety of matrices, collagen being the most common, have been reported in the literature, however, extensive comparisons between matrices have not been made. The aim of this study was to compare how various matrices found in the natural tissue environment affect the formation of skin equivalents. Fibroblasts and keratinocytes harvested from human neonatal foreskins were sequentially seeded onto extracellular matrix gels, incubated in growth media, and raised to the air-liquid interface. After three weeks, the resultant bilayers were examined by histology and immunohistochemistry. Although proliferation studies indicated that fibrin enhanced fibroblast growth to the greatest extent, these gels were degraded too rapidly to allow bilayer formation. Collagen gels, however, were not readily degraded but contracted to unusable proportions. Mixtures of collagen and fibrin produced an optimal, more stable matrix, but cross-linked collagen gels provided the most durable matrix. Bilayers created on cross-linked collagen gels most closely resembled human skin with a cornified layer indicating maturation and differentiation of the keratinocytes, and with evidence of basement membrane components. Woolverton CJ, Fulton JA, Lopina ST, Landis WJ. Mimicking the Natural Tissue Environment. In: K. Lewandrowski DL, Wise DJ, Trantolo JD, et al (eds). Tissue Engineering and Biodegradable Equivalents. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker, 2002: 43Ð75. |
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