[Study of xenotransplantation of fetal pig skin precursor tissue].
OBJECTIVE
To select the optimal pregnancy time window of embryonic pig skin precursor tissue for xenotransplantation and study its ability in wound repair.


METHODS
Skin precursor tissues were obtained from pig fetus of fetal age of 35, 42, 56, 70 days, and were minced into microskin and transplanted to dorsal wounds of BALB/c nude mice, then they were covered with residual skin after plastic surgery of patients or adult pig skin (white). The characteristics of growth and development were observed after transplantation. Pathological examination was performed on 6 and 12 post operation weeks respectively to observe the tissue structure and tumorigenicity.


RESULTS
Skin precursor tissues from fetal pig survived and developed after transplantation, and the microskin fused. New tissue area from skin precursor tissues with fetal age of 42 days was (47 +/- 6) mm2, which was higher than that of 35 days (18 +/- 8 mm2), 56 days (31 +/- 12 mm2), 70 days (20 +/- 8 mm2, P < 0.05). The skin precursor developed into "intact skin" with hair, sebaceous glands and sweat glands, and melanocytes were also detected in epidermis. The newly-grown skin tissue included epidermal and dermal layer, and obvious dermal papillae. Teratoma was not found after transplantation in skin precursor tissue with fetal age of 56, 70 days.


CONCLUSIONS
Fetal pig skin precursor tissue with fetal age of 56 days can be used to repair wound as xenotransplantation.
Huang
Zheng-gen
ZG
Institute of Burn Research, Southwest Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, PR China.
Wu
Jun
J
Luo
Gao-xing
GX
He
Wei-feng
WF
Gan
Cheng-jun
CJ
Yuan
Shun-zong
SZ
Jia
Xiong-fei
XF
Tan
Jiang-lin
JL
Wang
Xiao-juan
XJ
Ge
Liang-peng
LP
Wei
Hong
H
D000818:Animals; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation; D005333:Fetus; D005865:Gestational Age; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013552:Swine; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014945:Wound Healing