Current issues regarding skin substitutes using living cells as industrial materials

There have been many clinical cases of skin treatment using cultured epidermis, as established by H. Green in 1975. This procedure, famously, made it possible to make artificial skin using living cells. Permanent coverage for injury wounds was achieved with cultured epidermis made from autologous cells. Recently, many types of skin substitutes using living cells have been used clinically. The extent to which cellular skin substitute techniques established through basic research can be incorporated into general medical treatment is a controversial issue at present. Some techniques are at the commercializing stage as medical materials. Cultured epidermis, as described above, cultured dermis, and skin equivalent are already well established. In this article, we will describe the current issues regarding skin substitutes using living cells.

[1]  G. Pellegrini,et al.  The control of epidermal stem cells (holoclones) in the treatment of massive full-thickness burns with autologous keratinocytes cultured on fibrin. , 1999, Transplantation.

[2]  E Bell,et al.  Production of a tissue-like structure by contraction of collagen lattices by human fibroblasts of different proliferative potential in vitro. , 1979, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[3]  D. Greenhalgh,et al.  Cultured Skin Substitutes Reduce Donor Skin Harvesting for Closure of Excised, Full-Thickness Burns , 2002, Annals of surgery.

[4]  Y. Kuroyanagi,et al.  Establishment of banking system for allogeneic cultured dermal substitute. , 2004, Artificial organs.

[5]  H. Green,et al.  Seria cultivation of strains of human epidemal keratinocytes: the formation keratinizin colonies from single cell is , 1975, Cell.

[6]  A. Ylppo.  Children's Clinic, Helsinki. , 1948, Lancet.

[7]  Y. Kuroyanagi,et al.  Characterization of a cultured dermal substitute composed of a spongy matrix of hyaluronic acid and collagen combined with fibroblasts , 2003, Journal of Artificial Organs.

[8]  N. Kumagai.  Clinical application of autologous cultured epithelia for the treatment of burns and disfigurement of skin surfaces. , 2002, Methods in molecular biology.

[9]  K. Toda,et al.  A new skin equivalent: keratinocytes proliferated and differentiated on collagen sponge containing fibroblasts. , 1994, Plastic and reconstructive surgery.

[10]  J. Mulliken,et al.  GRAFTING OF BURNS WITH CULTURED EPITHELIUM PREPARED FROM AUTOLOGOUS EPIDERMAL CELLS , 1981, The Lancet.