Mimicking Fat Grafting of Fibrotic Scars Using 3D-Organotypic Skin Cultures

July 2023 in “ Experimental Dermatology ”

Rajiv S. Raktoe, Anastasia K. A. L. Kwee, Marion Rietveld, Nick Marsidi, Roel E. Genders, Koen D. Quint, Remco van Doorn, Paul P. M. van Zuijlen, Abdoelwaheb El Ghalbzouri

3D-organotypic skin culture hypertrophic scars fat grafting adipose-derived tissue ADT epidermal homeostasis myofibroblasts αSMA fibrosis collagen waviness re-epithelialization adipose tissue scar treatment

Studysummary This study found that incorporating human adipose subcutaneous tissue in 3D organotypic skin cultures mimicking hypertrophic scar conditions improved epidermal homeostasis, formed a basement membrane similar to native skin, and reduced myofibroblast presence, indicating an anti-fibrotic effect. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study developed a novel 3D-organotypic skin culture model to mimic hypertrophic scars and investigate the effects of fat grafting using adipose-derived tissue (ADT). This three-layered model improved epidermal homeostasis and morphogenesis, showing similarities to native human skin. ADT presence led to a reduction in myofibroblasts and αSMA expression, indicating decreased fibrosis, and increased collagen waviness, suggesting less fibrotic tissue. However, ADT delayed re-epithelialization in normal fibroblast models. This model offers a new method to study fat grafting's molecular mechanisms and could aid in developing treatments for burn patients. The research was funded by the Dutch Burn Foundation, with no conflicts of interest reported.

View this study on onlinelibrary.wiley.com →

Discuss this study in the Community →

Research cited in this study

9 / 9 results

research Recreation of a Hair Follicle Regenerative Microenvironment: Successes and Pitfalls

8 citations , May 2021 in “Bioengineering & translational medicine”

This review examines the challenges of hair follicle regeneration and outlines strategies for bioengineering human hair follicle models, without presenting new experimental results.

research Adipokines in the Skin and Dermatological Diseases

31 citations , November 2020 in “International journal of molecular sciences”

This review discusses the role of adipokines in skin physiology and pathology, suggesting they may influence skin conditions and diseases through interaction with various skin cell types, but reports no new clinical results.

Reconstructed Human Skin Shows Epidermal Invagination Towards Integrated Neopapillae Indicating Early Hair Follicle Formation In Vitro

research Reconstructed Human Skin Shows Epidermal Invagination Towards Integrated Neopapillae Indicating Early Hair Follicle Formation In Vitro

29 citations , April 2020 in “Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine”

This study demonstrates that incorporating human neopapilla into reconstructed human skin can initiate hair follicle morphogenesis by stimulating epidermal invagination and maintaining follicle-inductive properties in vitro.

research Tissue Engineering of Human Hair Follicles Using a Biomimetic Developmental Approach

184 citations , December 2018 in “Nature Communications”

This study demonstrated that enhancing human skin constructs with hair follicles through engineered cell organization and vascularization improved hair growth in immunodeficient mice, suggesting potential advances for treating alopecia and chronic wounds.

research Methods for the Isolation and 3D Culture of Dermal Papilla Cells from Human Hair Follicles

55 citations , April 2017 in “Experimental Dermatology”

This article details laboratory methods for isolating and culturing human dermal papilla cells but provides no new experimental results.

research The Hair Follicle: An Underutilized Source of Cells and Materials for Regenerative Medicine

30 citations , March 2017 in “ACS biomaterials science & engineering”

This review discusses the structure and regenerative potential of hair follicles, highlighting their role in wound healing, stem cell populations, and keratin-based biomaterials, but it reports no new clinical results.

research Stem Cells in Skin Regeneration, Wound Healing, and Their Clinical Applications

232 citations , October 2015 in “International journal of molecular sciences”

This review discusses the role of epidermal and other adult stem cells in skin repair, focusing on their potential therapeutic applications for non-healing wounds and other skin disorders, but reports no new research results.

Microenvironmental Reprogramming by Three-Dimensional Culture Enables Dermal Papilla Cells to Induce De Novo Human Hair-Follicle Growth

research Microenvironmental Reprogramming by Three-Dimensional Culture Enables Dermal Papilla Cells to Induce De Novo Human Hair-Follicle Growth

256 citations , October 2013 in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America”

This study found that altering cell culture conditions to form three-dimensional papilla spheroids can restore the ability of human dermal papilla cells to induce hair growth in adult skin.

research SKPs Derive from Hair Follicle Precursors and Exhibit Properties of Adult Dermal Stem Cells

330 citations , December 2009 in “Cell stem cell”

This study suggests that skin-derived precursors from Sox2(+) hair follicle dermal cells have the potential to function as dermal stem cells, supporting hair morphogenesis, dermal maintenance, and wound-healing.