Generation of a three-dimensional full thickness skin equivalent and automated wounding.
In vitro models are a cost effective and ethical alternative to study cutaneous wound healing processes. Moreover, by using human cells, these models reflect the human wound situation better than animal models. Although two-dimensional models are widely used to investigate processes such as cellular migration and proliferation, models that are more complex are required to gain a deeper knowledge about wound healing. Besides a suitable model system, the generation of precise and reproducible wounds is crucial to ensure comparable results between different test runs. In this study, the generation of a three-dimensional full thickness skin equivalent to study wound healing is shown. The dermal part of the models is comprised of human dermal fibroblast embedded in a rat-tail collagen type I hydrogel. Following the inoculation with human epidermal keratinocytes and consequent culture at the air-liquid interface, a multilayered epidermis is formed on top of the models. To study the wound healing process, we additionally developed an automated wounding device, which generates standardized wounds in a sterile atmosphere.
Department for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg; angela.rossi@uni-wuerzburg.de.
Angela
A
Rossi
Department for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg.
Antje
A
Appelt-Menzel
Department for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg.
Szymon
S
Kurdyn
Department for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg; Translational Center Würzburg, Regenerative Therapies in Oncology and Musculoskelettal Disease, Würzburg Branch of the Fraunhofer-Institute Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, IGB.
Heike
H
Walles
Translational Center Würzburg, Regenerative Therapies in Oncology and Musculoskelettal Disease, Würzburg Branch of the Fraunhofer-Institute Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, IGB.
Florian
F
Groeber
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D024042:Collagen Type I; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D012867:Skin / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000293:injuries*; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
D024042:Collagen Type I; D020100:Hydrogels