First Reconstitution of an Epidermis from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

From ScienceDaily.com

Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.

The goal is to one day be able to propose this unlimited resource of cells as an alternative treatment in particular for victims of third degree burns and patients with genetic diseases affecting the skin. These studies were financed in particular by Telethon donations.

Cell therapy has radically changed the life of serious burn victims. For more than two decades, physicians have used cell culture techniques in order to obtain a sufficiently large area of skin to reconstruct the destroyed epidermis from a small sample harvested from the patients themselves.

Although this type of graft has been used with success, one of its limits is the time required (three weeks) to produce a sufficient amount of epidermis to cover the affected areas, leaving the patient unprotected during this interval. For a few years, research has led to the development of skin substitutes that help protect patients during the period before grafting. However, these technological means do not rule out the risk of immune rejection and transmission of disease.

Rapid access to an unlimited number of cells capable of yielding a well-formed epidermis, perfectly controlled in the laboratory before use, would therefore be the ideal solution to the problems posed by existing techniques. For these reasons the I-STEM researchers attempted to reconstruct a whole epidermis using human embryonic stem cells.

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