Directing stem cells into the keratinocyte lineage in vitro

Abstract

A major area of research in regenerative medicine is the potential application of stem cells in skin grafting and tissue engineering. This would require well defined and efficient protocols for directing the commitment and differentiation of stem cells into the keratinocyte lineage, together with their selective purification and proliferation in vitro. The development of such protocols would reduce the likelihood of spontaneous differentiation of stem cells into divergent lineages upon transplantation, as well as reduce the risk of teratoma formation in the case of embryonic stem cells. Additionally, such protocols could provide useful in vitro models for studying skin tissue biology, as well as facilitate the genetic manipulation of stem cells for therapeutic applications. The development of pharmacokinetic and cytotoxicity/genotoxicity screening tests for skin-related biomaterials and drugs could also utilize protocols developed for the commitment and differentiation of stem cells into the keratinocyte lineage. Hence, this review critically examines the various strategies that could be employed to direct the commitment and differentiation of stem cells into the keratinocyte lineage in vitro.

Mathematical Modelling of Aerosolised Skin Grafts Incorporating Keratinocyte Clonal Subtypes

“…Holoclones are regarded as the epidermal stem cell (Barrandon, 1993). Stem cells are capable of both self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation, which makes them useful in the treatment of burn wounds, since there is a potential to have a nearly unlimited source of donor material for grafting (Heng et al, 2005). A current method for delivering keratinocytes to the wound bed is cultured epithelial autografts (CEA) as established by Green et al (1979).…”

Wound Stimulation by Growth-Arrested Human Keratinocytes and Fibroblasts: HP802-247, a New-Generation Allogeneic Tissue Engineering Product

“…Reduced costs of goods and the option of long-term storage should render the allogeneic ‘off-the-shelf’ products less expensive, thus allowing for repeated application in a larger segment of hard-to-treat chronic wounds. Today, discussions on applying either fetal or adult stem or progenitor cells are far from clinical reality since there are complex aspects to be addressed, including immunogenicity and carcinogenesis [6,7]. …”

Isolation of small-sized human epidermal progenitor/stem cells by Gravity Assisted Cell Sorting (GACS)

“…Many researchers have tried to isolate human epidermal stem cells using cell markers, rapid adherence to collagen type IV, and other methods [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. One of the important characteristics of epidermal stem cells is that these cells have a smaller diameter than other differentiating epidermal cells [2,5,7,8].…”