Cultured keratinocytes suspended in fibrin glue to cover full thickness wounds on athymic nude mice: comparison of two brands of fibrin glue

Abstract

To circumvent well-known drawbacks inherent in cultured epidermal sheet grafts, a new keratinocyte delivery system was experimently investigated. Human subconfluent keratinocytes were labeled with fluorescence cell linker and cultured in two brands of fibrin glue (TissucolR and BeriplastR) in vitro for 5 days. Keratinocyte fibrin glue suspensions were grafted onto full thickness wounds in athymic nude mice for macroscopic and microscopic investigation. Keratinocytes survived in both fibrin glues in vitro for at least 5 days. When grafted onto wounds, cells maintained a high proliferation potential and at 5 days formed small masses or well-organised cell clusters within the fibrin network. After 7 days new epithelia enlarged and became thicker with high keratinization and occasional downward projections. At 10 days, wounds in both fibrin groups were totally epitheliazied but only partially in the control group. Anti-involucrin and anti-laminin immunostainings indicated well-differentiated new epithelium derived from human keratinocytes and early reorganised basement membrane. The fibrin glues seem not only to deliver highly proliferative keratinocytes easily and effectively, but also provide an optimal milieu for their migration, proliferation and differentiation.