Biomaterial Database

Characterization and applications of human epidermis reconstructed in vitro on de-epidermized derma. 1998

P P Parnigotto, and S Bernuzzo, and P Bruno, and M T Conconi, and F Montesi

Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università di Padova, Italy.

In recent years in vitro models have been developed to avoid the use of animals in cutaneous toxicological studies. Submerged human keratinocyte cultures in vitro could be so far employed as an alternative to animal testing and a good correlation between skin irritation and cytotoxicity has been demonstrated. Nevertheless, these submerged cultures are lacking in the stratum corneum which acts as a barrier to chemical toxicity, so that this type of culture is far from the in vivo situation. A better alternative method seems to be the use of in vitro reconstructed skin at the air-liquid interface that closely resembles the in vivo situation. In this work, in a first step we have characterized human epidermis reconstructed in vitro on de-epidermized derma (DED) after a two-week air exposure. Human skin reconstituted in vitro on DED was histologically similar to the in vivo skin. A stratified epidermis including the stratum corneum was obtained. The presence of basal lamina as well as of various important markers for epidermal differentiation (involucrin, K10 keratin, and filaggrin) were revealed. In a second step we have tested the cytotoxic and morphological effects of four surfactants on our model. A good rank correlation has been shown to exist between the irritation potency of surfactants on our model and reported ocular irritancy in vivo. From our results, in vitro reconstituted human skin could represent an attractive model for irritancy testing and could be an in vitro replacement for animal testing.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008055	Lipids	A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Lipid
D008297	Male		Males
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004817	Epidermis	The external, nonvascular layer of the skin. It is made up, from within outward, of five layers of EPITHELIUM: (1) basal layer (stratum basale epidermidis); (2) spinous layer (stratum spinosum epidermidis); (3) granular layer (stratum granulosum epidermidis); (4) clear layer (stratum lucidum epidermidis); and (5) horny layer (stratum corneum epidermidis).
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000091344	Filaggrin Proteins	S100 proteins that aggregate KERATINS. Filaggrin precursor proteins are localized in keratohyalin granules and processed into individual functional filaggrin molecules during terminal epidermis differentiation. Mutations in fillagrins are associated with ICHTHYOSIS VULGARIS.	Filaggrin,Filaggrin Protein,Profilaggrin,Stratum Corneum Basic Protein,Stratum Corneum Basic Protein Precursor,Protein, Filaggrin,Proteins, Filaggrin
D013501	Surface-Active Agents	Agents that modify interfacial tension of water; usually substances that have one lipophilic and one hydrophilic group in the molecule; includes soaps, detergents, emulsifiers, dispersing and wetting agents, and several groups of antiseptics.	Surface Active Agent,Surface-Active Agent,Surfactant,Surfactants,Tenside,Amphiphilic Agents,Surface Active Agents,Tensides,Active Agent, Surface,Active Agents, Surface,Agent, Surface Active,Agent, Surface-Active,Agents, Amphiphilic,Agents, Surface Active,Agents, Surface-Active