Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Isolation, Culture, and Characterization of Primary Schwann Cells, Keratinocytes, and Fibroblasts from Human Foreskin
Published on: March 23, 2022
Isolation of five different primary cell types from a single sample of human skin
Sylwia Kabacik1, Donna Lowe1, Howard Cohen2
1Radiation Effects Department, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, UK Health Security Agency, Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0RQ Oxfordshire, UK.
Abstract:
We have developed a technique to isolate primary keratinocytes, melanocytes, fibroblasts, preadipocytes, and microvascular endothelial cells from an individual sample of human skin. The protocol describes step-by-step instructions for processing, cells isolation, and culture of neonatal foreskin, with adaptation for more demanding adult tissues. The availability of multiple isogenic cell types derived from individual skin samples offers the ability to investigate various areas of biology, in the context of cell-type specificity without potential confounding influence of inter-individual or genetic differences. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Holliman et al. (2017), Horvath et al. (2019), Horvath et al. (2018), Kabacik et al. (2018), Lowe et al. (2020), Lu et al. (2019), and Lu et al. (2018).

