Transglutaminases, involucrin, and loricrin as markers of epidermal differentiation in skin substitutes derived from human sweat gland cells

Abstract

In a multiproject research line, the authors from the University Children's Hospital of Zurich/Switzerland are currently testing whether a morphologically and functionally near-normal epidermis can be cultured from human sweat gland (SG) cells and be used as a skin substitute. The present study focuses on the stratum corneum of the epidermis that assumes a vital barrier function for the skin. The main process in the formation of the cornified cell envelope in human epidermis, that is, cross-linking of proteins and lipids, is catalyzed by several transglutaminases (TGs).