Cellular artificial skin substitute produced by short period simultaneous culture of fibroblasts and keratinocytes

We developed a novel artificial skin substitute consisting of two collagen sponge layers with different pore sizes and cross-link densities. Fibroblasts suspended in 0.5 ml Dulbecco-modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) + 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) were seeded on the lower dermal sponge layer then epidermal collagen sponge and 0.1 ml suspension of keratinocytes in KGM were layered in this order. After a few hours, the medium was changed to DMEM + 5% FBS. These processes were carried out in one day, and the composite layers were then cultured by the air-liquid interface culture method. Three to five days after seeding, keratinocytes had grown to about ten layers, and fibroblasts had grown three-dimensionally into the lower dermal sponge layer. This novel cellular artificial skin substitute was grafted onto nude mice and took in 4 weeks. This skin substitute has the advantage of a shorter culturing period than previously cultured skins, and may be clinically useful for grafting that is urgently required in patients with severe generalised burns. (C) 1999 The British Association of plastic Surgeons.