Characterization of Factors That Determine Lentiviral Vector Tropism in Skin Tissue Using an Ex Vivo Model

The study characterized lentiviral vector tropism in skin tissue using an ex vivo model, comparing it to keratinocytes in cell culture. It found that early progenitor keratinocytes were resistant to transduction in their native skin environment, while transiently amplifying keratinocytes were permissive after epidermis separation. Human hair follicle keratinocytes were resistant even after collagen digestion, but mouse tissue showed increased transduction with collagenase pretreatment. The study concluded that lentiviral vector tropism in skin tissue was distinct from cell culture and influenced by extracellular factors, not receptor availability.