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INTRODUCTION: IFATS COLLECTION: TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

IFATS Collection: Using Human Adipose-Derived Stem/Stromal Cells for the Production of New Skin Substitutes

^aLaboratoire d'Organogénèse Expérimentale, Centre Hospitalier Affilié Universitaire de Québec, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada;
^bDepartment of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Key Words. Mesenchymal stem cells • Tissue engineering • Skin • Cell differentiation • Fibroblasts • Adipose tissue

Correspondence: Correspondence: Julie Fradette, Ph.D.,Laboratoire d'Organogénèse Expérimentale (LOEX), CHAUQ-Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, 1050 chemin Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Quebec G1S 4L8, Canada. Telephone: 418-682-7995 or 418-682-7663; Fax: 418-682-8000; e-mail: julie.fradette{at}chg.ulaval.ca

Received on January 15, 2008; accepted for publication on June 11, 2008.

First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS  July 10, 2008.

The ability to harvest and culture stem cell populations from various human postnatal tissues is central to regenerative medicine applications, including tissue engineering. The discovery of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells within the stromal fraction of adipose tissue prompted their use for the healing and reconstruction of many tissues. Here, we examined the influence of adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) on skin's regenerative processes, from a tissue engineering perspective. Using a self-assembly approach, human skin substitutes were produced. They featured a stromal compartment containing human extracellular matrix endogenously produced from either dermal fibroblasts or adipose-derived stem/stromal cells differentiated or not toward the adipogenic lineage. Human keratinocytes were seeded on each stroma and cultured at the air-liquid interface to reconstruct a bilayered skin substitute. These new skin substitutes, containing an epidermis and a distinctive stroma devoid of synthetic biomaterial, displayed characteristics similar to human skin. The influence of the type of stromal compartment on epidermal morphogenesis was assessed by the evaluation of tissue histology, the expression of key protein markers of the epidermal differentiation program (keratin [K] 14, K10, transglutaminase), the expression of dermo-epidermal junction components (laminins, collagen VII), and the presence of basement membrane and hemidesmosomes. Our findings suggest that adipose-derived stem/stromal cells could usefully substitute dermal fibroblasts for skin reconstruction using the self-assembly method. Finally, by exploiting the adipogenic potential of ASCs, we also produced a more complete trilayered skin substitute consisting of the epidermis, the dermis, and the adipocyte-containing hypodermis, the skin's deepest layer.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.