Human Skin Explant Model For The Investigation Of Topical Therapeutics

By Jessica E. Neil, Marc B. Brown, and Adrian C. Williams

The creation of in vitro and ex vivo models mimicking human disease offers significant benefits, from deepening our scientific knowledge and exploring new therapies to minimizing the need for animal testing and improving the translation of research across species. In vitro models excel at enabling high-throughput and economical evaluation of novel drugs. Conversely, more sophisticated ex vivo systems are better predictors of both desired and adverse effects that might occur in vivo.

We present an ex vivo cultured human skin explant model where we've assessed key factors like tissue integrity, barrier function, and metabolic stability over time. Our research indicates that this human skin model can be successfully cultured for pharmacodynamic studies for up to and beyond nine days, showing no adverse physiological impact.

Neil, J.E., Brown, M.B. & Williams, A.C. Human skin explant model for the investigation of topical therapeutics. Sci Rep 10, 21192 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78292-4