<i>In vitro</i> interactions between sensory nerves, epidermis, hair follicles and capillaries in a tissue‐engineered reconstructed skin
September 2004
in “
Experimental Dermatology
”
TLDR The model effectively studies how sensory nerves interact with skin components, aiding research on wound healing and hair growth.
The study developed a tissue-engineered model of innervated endothelialized reconstructed skin (MIERS) to investigate the interactions between sensory nerves, epidermis, hair follicles, and capillaries. Mouse dorsal root ganglia neurons were cultured on a collagen sponge with human fibroblasts and endothelial cells, while keratinocytes or immature hair follicle buds were added to assess their influence on nerve growth. Results showed significant neurite elongation in the reconstructed dermis, particularly enhanced by endothelial cells after 14 days. The presence of keratinocytes prevented a decrease in neurite quantity observed in controls between 14 and 31 days. This model was deemed useful for studying the modulation of sensory nerves in processes like wound healing, angiogenesis, hair growth, and neurogenic inflammation in the skin.
