Influence of Donor Sources and Culture Media on the Histo-Morphological Quality of Human Artificial Skin Models

This study systematically investigated the influence of donor age and culture media on the quality of human in vitro full-thickness skin models. Using foreskin samples from 16 children, 144 skin models were created with three different media: KGM 2, KGM 2 variant, and EpiLife®. The study found that EpiLife® resulted in significantly fewer models with cell nuclei in the stratum corneum compared to the other media, although it did not significantly affect the thickness of the epidermis and dermis. Younger donor age was associated with a thicker epidermis, while older age reduced epidermis-dermis separation. A significant interaction between donor and medium influenced the skin model quality, highlighting the importance of optimizing donor-medium combinations. These findings were relevant for using these models as animal replacement models in research, with potential applications in studying acute GvHD of the skin.