Human Skin Equivalent Project

Overview

Project status: In progress

This project aims to develop Human Skin Equivalent (HSE) Wound Models for the in vitro evaluation of novel wound healing agents and therapies. In contrast to conventional tissue culture, which relies on 2-dimensional cell monolayers, this model allows replication of the histological features of skin and its 3D cellular architecture in vitro.

Consequently, wounded human skin equivalent models more closely mimic the structure and cellular environment of natural wounds and represent a more accurate model to study wound healing. In this context, we are developing models for partial and full thickness wounds and studying the effect of novel wound healing agents.

Read details

Organisational unit
Lead unit Faculty of Health Other units
Research area
Wound and Tissue Restoration
 

Details

Professor Zee Upton

Professor Zee Upton

HSEs are created by culturing skin keratinocytes at the air-liquid interface on top of a dermal scaffold. The dermal scaffold may consist of a de-epidermised dermis (DED), or a fibroblast-populated dermal substitute, such as a collagen matrix or inert filter. The model that we have established in our laboratory, the DED HSE, is often considered more physiologically relevant as it uses a human acellular dermis to create a new multilayered epidermis and retains the basement membrane, which has been previously shown to be critical for keratinocyte attachment in vitro.

Human skin equivalent samples

Human skin equivalent samples