A study of using tissue-engineered skin reconstructed by candidate epidermal stem cells to cover the nude mice with full-thickness skin defect.

Objective: To study and explore the feasibility of using candidate epidermal stem cells with reconstruct tissue-engineered skin for a skin defect.

Methods: After the candidate epidermal stem cells were selected directly by rapid adhesion to type IV collagen within 10min from keratinocytes isolated from foreskin epidermis, the TES was constructed by seeding large-scale cultured candidate epidermal stem cells onto a fibroblast-containing dermal substrate, then grafted onto athymic immunodeficient mice with full-thickness skin defects. All specimens were harvested after 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks of transplantation to evaluate by gross, histological, transmission electron microscopic and immunohistochemical techniques its potential to reconstitute a full-thickness skin defect.