Current and Future Perspectives on Skin Tissue Engineering: Key Features of Biomedical Research, Translational Assessment, and Clinical Application

Abstract

The skin is responsible for several important physiological functions and has enormous clinical significance in wound healing. Tissue engineered substitutes may be used in patients suffering from skin injuries to support regeneration of the epidermis, dermis, or both. Skin substitutes are also gaining traction in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries as alternatives to animal models for product testing. Recent biomedical advances, ranging from cellular‐level therapies such as mesenchymal stem cell or growth factor delivery, to large‐scale biofabrication techniques including 3D printing, have enabled the implementation of unique strategies and novel biomaterials to recapitulate the biological, architectural, and functional complexity of native skin. This progress report highlights some of the latest approaches to skin regeneration and biofabrication using tissue engineering techniques. Current challenges in fabricating multilayered skin are addressed, and perspectives on efforts and strategies to meet those limitations are provided. Commercially available skin substitute technologies are also examined, and strategies to recapitulate native physiology, the role of regulatory agencies in supporting translation, as well as current clinical needs, are reviewed. By considering each of these perspectives while moving from bench to bedside, tissue engineering may be leveraged to create improved skin substitutes for both in vitro testing and clinical applications.

A Bibliometric Review of Artificial Extracellular Matrices Based on Tissue Engineering Technology Literature: 1990 through 2019

“…There are a number of hurdles that raise concerns, such as ensuring that materials are harmless to the host and that they support the composition and function of the cells, immune complications, and spatial constraints [ 49 , 53 ]. The ECM and cellular composition of different tissues vary widely between cell types and they each pose their own engineering challenges [ 49 , 54 ]. It is vital for biomaterials to not only mimic the structural components of the ECM, but to also have the ability to promote adhesion, differentiation and proliferation of cells [ 49 , 55 , 56 ].…”

Human skin models: From healthy to disease‐mimetic systems; characteristics and applications

“…Other models comprises sucrose co-polymers and fibroblasts, leading to the formation of a macromolecular assembly, which potentiates collagen deposition (Benny, Badowski, Lane, & Raghunath, 2016). A 3D human skin model containing vitrified collagen that supported the culture of dendritic cells, keratinocytes, and fibroblasts (Uchino, Takezawa, & Ikarashi, 2009) Skin-engineered substitutes may be used not only as alternatives to ex vivo and in vitro non-cell-based models for testing pharmaceutical or cosmetic ingredients, in both healthy or pathological conditions, but they can also be applied in patients for regeneration of damaged skin, especially in the treatment of burn injuries and skin wounds (reviewed in Sarkiri et al, 2019;Yu et al, 2019).…”

Bio-Functional Textiles: Combining Pharmaceutical Nanocarriers with Fibrous Materials for Innovative Dermatological Therapies

“…The hypodermis is mainly constituted of connective tissue and attaches the skin to the muscular tissues. It is composed of three layers: the top one is rich of fatty substances while the bottom two are vascularized [65]. By observing the overall skin architecture, a complex structure from the biochemical point of view can be easily observed.…”