ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2001 October;136(5):335-8

Copyright © 2001 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Survival of Langerhans cells in a skin culture model

Molinu A., Pianigiani E., Ierardi F., Toti P., Andreassi L.

Università degli Studi - Siena Istituto di Scienze Dermatologiche *Istituto di Anatomia e Istologia Patologica

Background. Most in vitro cultured epidermal models consist only of keratinocytes and melanocytes. Langerhans cells can also be cultured and added to epidermal cultures. The problem of maintaining Langerhans cells in culture was recently solved with the introduction of a medium supplemented with GM-CSF, TNF-a and 2-mercaptethanol. With this medium, Langerhans cells can be added to epidermal cultures prepared on skin equivalents. The aim of the present study was to maintain Langerhans cells in organotypic cultures.
Methods. Epidermal cells, obtained from skin biopsy specimens, were seeded on human de-epidermised dermis (DED).
Results. Serum-free medium supplemented with GM-CSF, TNF-a and 2-mercapto-ethanol was used to develop an experimental model of epidermis consisting of keratinocytes, melanocytes and Langerhans cells, similar to the in vivo epidermis.
Conclusions. These cultures grew a multilayered, well differentiated epidermis containing melanocytes and Langerhans cells, for use in immunology, allergy and cytotoxicity studies.