title: In vivo enhancement of sensory perception recovery in a tissue-engineered skin enriched with laminin.
abstract: The use of autologous reconstructed skin appears to be a promising treatment for the permanent coverage of deep and extensive burns. However, the capability of reconstructed skin transplanted on wounds to promote recovery of sensory perception is a major concern. Our aim was to assess the effect of laminin on cutaneous nerve regeneration. We prepared collagen-chitosan sponges enriched with 0, 1, 10 or 50 microg of laminin/sponge to produce tissue-engineered reconstructed skins by culture of human fibroblasts and keratinocytes, then grafted on the back of athymic mice for 120 days. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that there were 7 times more neurofilament 150 kD-positive nerve fibers migrating in the graft in the samples enriched with 10 microg laminin/sponge, compared to reconstructed skin without laminin, 120 days after graft. A significant improvement in the current perception threshold of the Abeta and Adelta nerve fibers was measured using a Neurometer in all grafts enriched with laminin. In addition, the type C nerve fibers reached an identical current perception threshold than mouse skin, in all reconstructed skins enriched or not with laminin. We conclude that the use of a tissue-engineered autologous skin graft enriched with laminin has the potential to efficiently optimize cutaneous sensory nerve regeneration in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'organogénèse Expérimentale (LOEX), Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire de Québec, Hôpital du St-Sacrement, Département de chirurgie, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Qué., Canada G1S 4L8.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caissie
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gingras
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Champigny
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berthod
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000637:transplantation*; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000293:injuries / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D017768:Skin, Artificial; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007797:Laminin