ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Acta Phlebologica 2018 December;19(3):76-9

DOI: 10.23736/S1593-232X.18.00410-1

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

An autologous smart bilayer skin substitute produced by tissue engineering

Rubén F. VELLETTAZ ¹ ✉, María V. LAVIGNE ², Diego DOMINICI ², María L. CORREA ²

¹ Department of Phebology and Lymphology, Colon Clinic, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina; ² Craveri SAIC, Buenos Aires, Argentina

BACKGROUND: Venous ulcers treatment is based on restoring venous flux and improving scarring mechanisms. During chronic diseases, cell and molecular mechanisms of scarring are disturbed, facilitating the development of chronic ulcers. There is a need for better treatments to achieve faster and more efficacious results. Living cells, growth factors and other active molecules, might help to improve healing non-responding chronic ulcers. Tissue engineered skin substitutes appear as the most appropriate solution to this chronic problem.
METHODS: A skin sample was taken for keratinocyte and fibroblast culture. After obtaining the autologous dermo-epidermal device (DED), full integument deep wounds were performed under anesthesia using a scalpel. The DED were placed on the injury and skin was covered with gauze. A skin biopsy of a lesion quadrant was taken at 14 and 21 days of implantation.
RESULTS: The DED samples proved to have a complete epidermis, more than five layers, with rudimentary cornification. Immunohistochemistry was performed, showing positivity for pankeratin antibodies (AE1 and AE3). The biopsies did not show any CD1A expression, indicating the absence of Langerhans cells. The animals showed wound repair at 14 days. The control group had not yet completely healed at 21 days.
CONCLUSIONS: We generated a reproducible method, using a DED that developed structural and ultrastructural characteristics compatible with a full skin graft, which proved effective in the treatment of surgical wounds induced in pigs.

KEY WORDS: Varicose ulcer - Surgical wound - Tissue engineering