The presence of dermal papilla cells in bio-engineered skin substitutes improves the wound healing process in deep skin lesions in nude mice.

LEIRÓS GJ; KUSINSKY, AG; DRAGO,H; BOSSI, S; STURLA F; CASTELLANOS ML; STELLA IY; BALAÑA ME

Edinburgo

Congreso; International Investigative Dermatology; 2013

ESDR - JSID - SID

The bio-engineered composite skin could be a useful tool to treat deep and extensive skin injuries. We previously demonstrated that the presence of human Dermal Papilla Cells (DPC) in a composite skin with Hair Follicle Stem Cells (HFSC), using acellular porcine dermis (APD) as scaffold, induced a regular and multi-layered stratified epidermis with a high number of basal p63-positive cells and invaginations in vitro. When nude mice were grafted with these constructions, the presence of DPC favoured the epidermis survival after 14 days, probably due to an effective neovascularisation of the matrix. An extensive remodelling of porcine dermis was also observed. In the present work we compared the effect of DPC and human dermal fibroblasts (DF), as dermal component, on tissue architecture and graft take of composite skin in nude mice. For that purpose we grafted mice with APD alone, composite skin with HFSC and DF or HFSC and DPC. Mice grafted with composite skin constructions containing DPC showed, 28 days after grafted, a more mature remodelled dermis that indent the lower layer of the epidermis of the injured area, what it was not seen in skin constructions containing DF. Same features were maintained 60 days after grafted but showing a thinner epidermis. Moreover, the grafting of APD alone showed at the same time a strong contraction of the wound both at microscopic and macroscopic level, which was not seen in the presence of any dermal cellular component. In brief, the use of DPC as dermal component, in composite skin, contributed to an arranged stratified-epidermis with a high number of precursor cells and invaginations in vitro. Moreover, the efficient graft-take and the mature remodelled dermis, similar to normal skin structure, observed in presence of DPC, suggest that DPC and HFSC are promising cellular components for a permanent skin substitute.