Project leader is Prof. Dr. Heike Walles, Professor of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Würzburg (Germany) and Head of Department Cell Systems at the IGB in Stuttgart (Germany).

During the automated procedure, sterilized pieces of human skin tissue are poored with an enzyme solution. In this way the tissue pieces become divided into two celltypes - keratoblasts and fibroblasts. Now, each cell type is cultivated in special media. Later fibroblasts and keratocytes are put together and become united again in a specific collagen scaffold. Keratocytes cultivated in a special medum differentiate into a multi-layered epidermis with an outer horny layer very similar to human skin.

The skin models will be used for tests in the fields of pharmacology and dermatoxicoloy. New drugs and substances, for example, have to be tested on quality, effectiveness and harmlessness. These new skin models reduce the number of animals used in test procedures.

The IGB scientists are already working on a full skin model with blood vessels.

For further information please visit: http://www.tissue-factory.com/
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/