Skin organ culture: potential applications in wound healing research

Introduction: Short-term organ culture of skin explants is a useful model for the study of various aspects of skin biology. This study aimed to test the robustness of a canine skin organ culture model and its ability to respond to selected pharmacological stimuli. Material and methods: Ki67-positive proliferating keratinocytes, epidermal thickness, expression of selected cytokeratins and epithelial tongue formation were evaluated in Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)-stimulated cultures, with and without treatment with Dexamethasone (DMS). Mast cell (MC) degranulation, histamine release and early local inflammatory response in compound 48/80-stimulated cultures were evaluated after treatment with the endocannabinoid-like Palmitoylethanolamide in the form ultramicron-sized particles (PEA-um). Results: DMS treatment significantly reduced both EGF-induced keratinocyte proliferation and epidermal thickening. Conversely, DMS enhanced the length of EGF-induced re-epithelializing tongues at the edge of the culture. Treatment with PEA-um significantly counteracted compound 48/80-induced increase in the percentage of degranulating MCs. PEA-um also reduced by one-half the histamine content in the culture medium from compound 48/80-stimulated cultures. Finally, PEA-um significantly limited the compound 48/80-induced early inflammatory response, i.e., vasodilation. Discussion: Our findings demonstrate the potential use of a full-thickness canine skin organ culture model for the study of skin physiology and response to selected stimuli and treatments. In this respect the evaluation of re-epithelialization mechanisms and early inflammatory response could be of great interest in the field of wound healing research.