Akatemiatutkijan tehtävä: Ihmisen keinotekoisen ihon suunnittelu ja kehitys käyttäen innovativisia teknologioita

The loss of the integrity of large portions of skin due to injuries or illnesses may result in chronic wounds or in some cases, death. The engineering of skin substitutes and their application on human patients has become a reality but reconstructive surgeons are still facing sometimes insurmountable problems when large or massive full thickness skin defects require definitive and functional autologous coverage. Constructing an autologous dermo-epidermal graft that rapidly vascularizes and optimally supports epidermal stratification, is now the goal. Our aim is to construct an artificial skin device avoiding animal reagents and using human progenitors and cell sheet technology, that can be incorporated as a permanent wound substitute in acute injuries. We will seed epithelial, fibroblast-like cells and endothelial precursors isolated from lipectomies and once they reach the confluence, we will ensemble together to create artificial skin replacement.