Search

Cultured epithelium has proven to be a good grafting material for skin defects. In our experience two kinds of epithelial cells, skin keratinocytes and mucosal cells, have been used to fabricate cultured epithelial sheets and autografted to the patients. Traumatic scars of the face were treated by cultured epidermal epithelium (CEE). The skin graft in the oral cavity was replaced by mucosa using cultured mucosal epithelium (CME). Also, the CME was applied to the skin defects at the donor sites of split-thickness skin grafts. Postsurgical follow-up showed good results. As a result, CME was useful in improving the biological environment around the abutments of dental implants, and it also promoted the re-epithelialization of skin defects. From our investigations, CEE/CME are promising treatment modalities which can reduce pain and speed up the healing process in burn patients. Therefore, cultured epithelium banks are worth establishing for auto- and allografting of skin/mucosal defects.

We investigated morphological changes after transplantation of cultured mucosal epithelium using a modified Barrandon's method (1988). Serially cultivated human mucosal epithelium was transplanted onto the reverse side of rectangular dorsal skin flaps in hairless mice. The morphological changes in the epithelium were studied using paraffin sections. The modified Barrandon's method used in this study has advantages such as minimum external trauma and less chance of infection. The cultured epithelium was taken within 1 week and gradually increased its epithelial thickness. Keratinized epithelium arises after 3 weeks. At 4 weeks after grafting, the grafted epithelium comprised 7-10 cell layers. The structure of transplanted tissue, in conjunction with surrounding connective tissues, showed dermis-like features at day 7 after transplantation. From these results, it was confirmed that cultured mucosal epithelium could be successfully transplanted and its morphology was similar to that of normal mucosal tissue.