Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal cells support skin reepithelialization through secretion of KGF-1 and PDGF-BB: comparison with dermal fibroblasts.

Epidermal organization and homeostasis are regulated by mesenchymal influences through paracrine actions. Until today, dermal fibroblasts (DFs) are used in the "dermal" layer to support keratinocyte growth in vitro in dermal and skin substitutes. In the present work, we used human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal cells (ADMCs) as a support of keratinocyte growth in vitro (in monolayer culture and in 3D skin cell culture models) and in vivo (mouse wound healing models) and compared our findings with those obtained using dermal fibroblasts.