Culture of human skin cells on both artificial polymeric and porcine-urinary-bladder-derived acellular scaffolds

Abstract

Innovative methods are constantly proposed by tissue engineering in order to improve the quality of life of people affected by skin injuries. The aim of this study was the in vitro culture of human fibroblasts and keratinocytes on both artificial polymeric thermosensitive and porcine-urinary-bladder-derived acellular scaffolds. Primary cultures and subcultures were established and, subsequently, differentiated and stratified epidermises were obtained from keratinocytes co-cultured with a human dermal fibroblast feeder layer. Observations on both structure and differentiation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts were performed by optical microscopy. It was observed that epithelial cells cultivated on thermosensitive scaffolds were able to produce epidermal sheets similar to normal epidermis, whereas keratinocyte development was less successful on the porcine-urinary-bladder-derived acellular membrane.