title: Endothelial network formed with human dermal microvascular endothelial cells in autologous multicellular skin substitutes.
abstract: A human skin equivalent from a single skin biopsy harboring keratinocytes and melanocytes in the epidermal compartment, and fibroblasts and microvascular dermal endothelial cells in the dermal compartment was developed. The results of the study revealed that the nature of the extracellular matrix of the dermal compartments plays an important role in establishment of endothelial network in vitro. With rat-tail type I collagen matrices only lateral but not vertical expansion of endothelial networks was observed. In contrast, the presence of extracellular matrix of entirely human origin facilitated proper spatial organization of the endothelial network. Namely, when human dermal fibroblasts and microvascular endothelial cells were seeded on the bottom of an inert filter and subsequently epidermal cells were seeded on top of it, fibroblasts produced extracellular matrix throughout which numerous branched tubes were spreading three-dimensionally. Fibroblasts also facilitated the formation of basement membrane at the epidermal/matrix interface. Under all culture conditions, fully differentiated epidermis was formed with numerous melanocytes present in the basal epidermal cell layer. The results of the competitive RT-PCR revealed that both keratinocytes and fibroblasts expressed VEGF-A, -B, -C, aFGF and bFGF mRNA, whereas fibroblasts also expressed VEGF-D mRNA. At protein level, keratinocytes produced 10 times higher amounts of VEGF-A than fibroblasts did. The generation of multicellular skin equivalent from a single human skin biopsy will stimulate further developments for its application in the treatment of full-thickness skin defects. The potential development of biodegradable, biocompatible material suitable for these purposes is a great challenge for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, 9503, 2300, RA Leiden, The Netherlands, m.h.ponec-waelsch@lumc.nl.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ponec
authors.forename: Abdoelwaheb
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El Ghalbzouri
authors.forename: Remco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dijkman
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kempenaar
authors.forename: Gabri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van der Pluijm
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koolwijk
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D017931:DNA Primers; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017768:Skin, Artificial; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A