title: Organotypic cultures of autologous hair follicle keratinocytes for the treatment of recurrent leg ulcers.
abstract: Our purpose was to evaluate, in an open study, the efficacy of epidermal equivalents (EEs), a tissue-engineered epidermis prepared from autologous hair follicle keratinocytes, for the treatment of recurrent leg ulcers (n = 50). To generate EEs, keratinocytes expanded from the outer root sheaths of plucked anagen hair follicles were seeded on cell culture inserts at air-liquid interface. The total culture time was 5 to 6 weeks. Three days after the procedure, 95% of EEs adhered to the wound bed. After 8 weeks, 70% of the total wound surface was re-epithelialized and 32% of the ulcers were healed. After applying the EEs, a major relief of wound pain was noticed by the patients. EEs were applied in ambulatory patients without surgical facilities. Because 92% of the cases included in this study presented a recurrence of their ulcers after a split-thickness skin graft, we consider these ulcers as difficult to treat and propose the EEs as an alternative effective treatment of recurrent leg ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Dermatology, Hôpital Cantonal, University Hospital Geneva, HUG et DHURDV, 24 rue Micheli-du-Crest, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Limat
authors.forename: Lars E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blal
authors.forename: Jean-Hilaire
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Saurat
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hunziker
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Salomon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D017768:Skin, Artificial; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous