Reconstructed skin from cultured human keratinocytes and fibroblasts on a collagen-glycosaminoglycan biopolymer substrate.

A lattice prepared from biopolymer substrate bovine skin collagen and chondroitin-6-sulfate (glycosaminoglycan) served as a support for normal human keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Air exposure of the lattice on an agarose block gave rise to reconstructed epidermis, the histological features of which are very similar to normal human epidermis. Indirect immunofluorescence staining of the plasma membrane-associated transglutaminase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of the cornified envelope, revealed the same tissue distribution as observed in vivo. Cell cycle analysis showed a large shift of the normal human keratinocyte population into S-phase and cell division during the 1st week postinoculation. Furthermore, the effects of two modulators of differentiation (25-hydroxycholesterol and sodium butyrate) on the reconstruction of the epidermis were evaluated.