Researchers grafted cells from the soles of volunteers’ feet onto the more fragile skin of their thighs. The grafted area then developed biomechanical resistance properties, which could benefit the stumps of amputees to better support prostheses.
The skin of amputees is fragile and often prone to irritation due to the pressure exerted by their prosthesis. Only the skin on the soles of the feet or hands could withstand such pressure. This is why a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (USA) conducted a phase I clinical trial (assessment of tolerance) in which they grafted skin cells from the soles of volunteers’ feet onto their thighs, to see if the same resistance could develop elsewhere on the body. The results are published in the journal Science.
Epidermis thickens up to 5 months after fibroblast injection
The epidermis is the most superficial tissue of the skin. It contains keratinocytes, producers of the horny layer characteristic of the degree of resistance to mechanical stress. Deeper, a second layer – the dermis – communicates with the epidermis, via cells called fibroblasts, responsible for the structure and elasticity of the dermis.
The skin on the soles of the feet is called palmar skin, because of its resistant properties. The researchers then wondered if the fibroblasts from this type of skin could retain their resistant function and put it to use in another area of the body that is thinner and more fragile.
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Fibroblasts retain their initial anatomical function
On the one hand, biologists have shown that fibroblasts of palmar origin are more resistant to pressure than those of non-palmar origin. On the other hand, fibroblasts taken from under the feet modified the property of the skin of the thigh of the volunteers in the phase I trial, while those taken from the scalp (a non-palmar type of skin) showed no resistance when grafted to the thigh.
“We still need to improve this cell therapy and increase its benefits, with[…]
- sciencesetavenir.fr
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