Force generation and protease gene expression in organotypic co-cultures of fibroblasts and keratinocytes.

Fibroblast-epithelium interactions are crucial for successful tissue engineering of skin and oral mucosal equivalents. In this study, we assessed early force generation in organotypic fibroblast-epithelium co-cultures, using normal human keratinocytes (NHK) and HPV16-transformed (UP) cells. During the initial 2 h period, organotypic co-cultures containing both epithelial cell types produced significantly more force than fibroblasts alone (p < 0.

The effect of mechanical strain on protease production by keratinocytes.

Background: Intact skin is under constant tension, transmitted from the underlying dermis, but when tension is lost (i.e. upon wounding) protease activity is upregulated.

Early detection of oral cancer - Is dielectrophoresis the answer?

The early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma by non-invasive methods has the potential to hasten diagnosis and thus lessen the morbidity associated with tumour therapy. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) can non-invasively determine electrophysiological parameters such as conductivity and permittivity of cellular cytoplasm and membrane. The present study demonstrates that DEP can be utilised to characterise H357 and UP cells and reveals that there are significant differences in these parameters between malignant and more normal epithelial cell lines.