Numerous difficulties are associated with the conduct of preclinical studies related to skin and wound repair. Use of small animal models such as rodents is not optimal because of their physiological differences to human skin and mode of wound healing. Although pigs have previously been used because of their human-like mode of healing, the expense and logistics related to their use also renders them suboptimal. In view of this, alternatives are urgently required to advance the field. The experiments reported herein were aimed at developing and validating a simple, reproducible, three-dimensional ex vivo de-epidermised dermis human skin equivalent wound model for the preclinical evaluation of novel wound therapies. Having established that the human skin equivalent wound model does in fact “heal," we tested the effect of two novel wound healing therapies. We also examined the utility of the model for studies exploring the mechanisms underpinning these therapies. Taken together the data demonstrate that these new models will have wide-spread application for the generation of fundamental new information on wound healing processes and also hold potential in facilitating preclinical optimization of dosage, duration of therapies, and treatment strategies prior to clinical trials.
S_mmary Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression has been associated frequently with squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and SCC cell lines. In most cases the level of EGFR on the tumours from which the cell lines were derived has not been determined, nor
We have previously reported that novel vitronectin:growth factor (VN:GF) complexes significantly increase re-epithelialization in a porcine deep dermal partial-thickness burn model. However, the potential exists to further enhance the healing response through combination with an appropriate delivery vehicle which facilitates sustained local release and reduced doses of VN:GF complexes. Hyaluronic acid (HA), an abundant constituent of the interstitium, is known to function as a reservoir for growth factors and other bioactive species. The physicochemical properties of HA confer it with an ability to sustain elevated pericellular concentrations of these species. This has been proposed to arise via HA prolonging interactions of the bioactive species with cell surface receptors and/or protecting them from degradation. In view of this, the potential of HA to facilitate the topical delivery of VN:GF complexes was evaluated. Two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell cultures and 3D de-epidermised dermis (DED) human skin equivalent (HSE) models were used to test skin cell responses to HA and VN:GF complexes. Our 2D studies revealed that VN:GF complexes and HA stimulate the proliferation of human fibroblasts but not keratinocytes. Experiments in our 3D DED-HSE models showed that VN:GF complexes, both alone and in conjunction with HA, led to enhanced development of both the proliferative and differentiating layers in the DED-HSE models. However, there was no significant difference between the thicknesses of the epidermis treated with VN:GF complexes alone and VN:GF complexes together with HA. While the addition of HA did not enhance all the cellular responses to VN:GF complexes examined, it was not inhibitory, and may confer other advantages related to enhanced absorption and transport that could be beneficial in delivery of the VN:GF complexes to wounds.
Research has shown that the inclusion of a fibroblast cell support layer is required for the isolation and expansion of primary keratinocytes. Recent advances have provided keratinocyte culture with fibroblast-free alternatives. However, these technologies are often undefined and rely on the incorporation of purified proteins/components. To address this problem we developed a medium that used recombinant proteins to support the serum-free isolation and expansion of human dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The human dermal fibroblasts were able to be isolated serum free by adding recombinant human albumin to a collagenase solution. These fibroblasts were then expanded using a serum-free medium containing recombinant proteins: epidermal growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, chimeric vitronectin:insulin-like growth factor-I protein, and recombinant human albumin. These fibroblasts maintained a typical morphology and expressed fibroblast markers during their serum-free isolation, expansion, and freezing. Moreover, these fibroblasts were able to support the serum-free isolation and expansion of primary keratinocytes using these recombinant proteins. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence analysis confirmed that there were no differences in expression levels of p63 or keratins 1, 6, and 10 when keratinocytes were grown in either serum-supplemented or serum-free medium. Using a three-dimensional human skin equivalent model we demonstrated that these keratinocytes also maintained their ability to reform an epidermal layer. In summary, the techniques described provide a valuable alternative for culturing fibroblasts and keratinocytes using recombinant proteins.
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