Fabrication of Chimeric Hair Follicles for Skin Tissue Engineering

The document described methods for creating engineered skin substitutes that incorporated chimeric hair follicles, aiming to improve treatments for full-thickness burns and other skin injuries. The process involved isolating human keratinocytes, human fibroblasts, and murine dermal papilla cells, which were then combined with collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds to produce human-murine chimeric grafts. These grafts were applied to full-thickness surgical wounds in immunodeficient mice, resulting in the formation of a human-mouse follicular structure. This approach aimed to enhance the functionality of skin substitutes by integrating essential skin appendages like hair follicles.