Cultured epidermis influences the fibril organization of purified type I collagen gels.
Purified type I collagen gel used as culture substrate was composed of unstriated fibrils. Before culture, gel fragments were coated with culture medium with or without fetal calf serum (FCS+ coated or FCS- coated gels). Each gel fragment was apposed to a fragment of frog skin at the medium/air interface in Trowell culture chamber. After 7 days at 20 degrees C, the coated gels were covered with newly formed epidermis containing fibronectin localized around the keratinocytes, whose morphology was considerably modified. Fibroblast-shaped keratinocytes were localized in the anterior zone of the newly formed epidermis on FCS+ gels. The long axis of the cells was parallel to the gel surface, where numerous unstriated fibrils were located. Polyhedral keratinocytes were located in the posterior zone on FCS+ gels or the anterior and posterior zones on FCS- gels with the long axis perpendicular to the gel surface. Numerous cross-striated fibrils were found under the cultured keratinocytes in the vicinity of the basal filipodia. This model is useful for the study of collagen gel reorganization by keratinocytes.
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D005260:Female; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000032:analysis; D005782:Gels; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D011893:Rana esculenta; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology*
D003470:Culture Media; D005353:Fibronectins; D005782:Gels; D007633:Keratins; D003094:Collagen