HEALING OF DERMAL WOUNDS IN THE EPIDERM-FT™ IN VITRO HUMAN SKIN MODEL: AN ANIMAL ALTERNATIVE FOR WOUND HEALING ISSUES.

This study by scientists at MatTek Corp. demonstrated that MatTek’s EpiDerm-FT full thickness in vitro human skin tissue equivalent is an excellent in vitro model for studying the dermal-epidermal wound-healing interactions produced by physical wounding of these tissues. Background: Dermal wound healing involves interactions between dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes, as well as cell and extracellular matrix interactions. The current poster describes wound healing experiments conducted with a full-thickness in vitro human skin model (EpiDerm-FT™). Material and Methods: Normal human epidermal keratinocytes (KG) and dermal fibroblasts (FB) were cultured to produce the highly differentiated full-thickness skin model. Small wounds of several mm in diameter were induced in the epithelial model by means of a battery operated cauterizer or a dermal biopsy punch. The wounded EpiDerm-FT cultures were fixed at various time points and H&E stained paraffin sections were prepared to evaluate the wound and the wound healing process. Results: Immediately after burn wounding, necrotic epithelium and denatured collagen dermal matrix were evident. Within one day, the denatured collagen matrix began to degrade and epithelial keratinocytes were observed migrating inward from the wound edges. Over a time course of seven days, migrating epidermal keratinocytes repopulated the wounded area to form a fully covered epithelium. Dermal fibroblasts were also observed to be proliferating within the wound area and generating new dermal matrix material. Biopsy punches were used to produce wounds that removed only the epidermis. These wounds also healed within a time frame of 3-7 days. Increased dermal fibroblast proliferation in dermal areas directly adjacent to migrating epidermal keratinocytes was observed. Discussion: These results demonstrate that EpiDerm-FT is a useful model for applications designed to elucidate dermal-epidermal interactions during wound healing and to evaluate the role of specific growth factors or new therapeutics in the dermal wound healing process.

Burn wounds, Cautery device, Denatured dermal matrix, Dermal wound healing, EFT-200, EpiDerm-FT, EpiDermFT, Histology, Keratinocyte migration, MMP, MMP inhibition, Wound healing

Cautery instrument, MMP inhibitor