AsianScientist (Nov. 5, 2018) – In a study published in Nature Communications, a research group in Singapore has devised an efficient method to culture skin grafts using a human protein matrix made out of laminin.
For over four decades, skin cells, or keratinocytes, have been cultivated using a combined human-animal culture system. From a clinical application standpoint, this approach exposes patients to the potential risk of infections and adverse immune reactions.
The animal-derived products and biological agents used in the culture system are considered high-risk under a pharmaceutical standard called the Good Manufacturing Practice system. Regulatory agencies, such as the US Food and Drug Administration, have classified such cultured products as xenografts, which are approved only for treatment of severe burns covering more than 30 percent of total body surface area, or for compassionate use.
In this study, scientists led by Professor Karl Tryggvason at the Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School used the human laminin proteins LN-511 or LN-421 as a supportive cell culture matrix, which facilitated the growth and organization of keratinocytes.
“Laminins are known to maintain stem cells and tissues architecture and function in a way that mimics the situation in the human body,” Tryggvason explained. “Our method of using biologically relevant laminins in their pure forms to develop a fully human cell culture system for growing skin keratinocytes in the laboratory is a first and is likely to translate into novel treatments for many different skin disorders and wounds.”
The researchers reported that their method provides a robust, yet safer system for burn patients. More importantly, it sets the stage for a cell culture platform for other regenerative medicine applications—these include the cultivation of cells from other surface tissues of the body, such as the cornea or oral mucosa.
The article can be found at: Tjin et al. (2018) Biologically Relevant Laminin as Chemically Defined and Fully Human Platform for Human Epidermal Keratinocyte Culture.
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Source: National University of Singapore; Photo: Shutterstock.
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