Artificial Skin Graft Replaces Damaged Skin

A new study reports on the first laboratory-manufactured human skin graft that has demonstrated full, consistent wound integration and persistence.

In a Phase I trial study, a full-thickness skin sample was excised from the upper arm of six volunteers and replaced with ICX-SKN, a skin graft replacement composed of an autosynthesized human collagen-based extracellular matrix and human dermal fibroblasts.

After 28 days both visual and histological analysis showed that in all volunteers the ICX-SKN grafts were rapidly vascularised and overgrown with the hosts' own cells, resulting in a fully integrated skin graft that had closed and healed the wound site.

ICX-SKN, which shares many of the structural attributes of skin, is under development by Intercytex (Cambridge, United Kingdom). The skin graft contrasts with other living skin graft alternatives, which biodegrade in situ after a matter of weeks. The developers believe that the combination of living human fibroblasts in a human fibroblast-produced matrix underpins the integration and acceptance of ICX-SKN by the host skin. The study was published in the July 2007 issue of the journal Regenerative Medicine.

Intercytex intends to develop a range of cell-based implants that can regenerate lost tissue and this research is an important milestone in the pursuit of that objective, said lead author Dr. Paul Kemp, Intercytex' founder and chief scientific officer. For regenerative medicine to fulfill its promise, scientists need to develop cellular implants that are accepted and integrated into the human body. So far this has proved elusive but today's research shows, for the first time, that it can be achieved.

I think these results are a real breakthrough in the field of wound healing and regenerative medicine in general, said Dr Stephen L Minger, director of the stem cell biology laboratory at King's College London (United Kingdom), and senior editor of Regenerative Medicine. To have an off-the-shelf skin replacement product that can be used in large numbers of patients will revolutionize the treatment of burned and skin damaged patients.


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Intercytex
King's College London