3D Approaches to Culturing Bovine Skin: Explant Culture versus Organotypic Skin Model

Digital dermatitis (DD) in cattle appears with high prevalence; nevertheless, the knowledge on its pathogenesis is still limited. In this context, in vitro skin models represent a valuable tool to facilitate the study of DD.

Two in vitro skin models were established using bovine distal limb skin: a skin explant model and an organotypic skin model. For the skin explant model, skin samples were cultured with an air-liquid interface for up to 7 days. Besides routine histopathological examination, readout parameters were Ki-67 and cleaved Caspase-3 stainings. For the organotypic model, primary keratinocytes were layered on top of a dermal equivalent containing mainly mitotically inactive fibroblasts and maintained for up to 21 days. At regular intervals (days 7, 14, and 21), cultured skin samples were taken for (immuno)histological analysis.

Both cultures could be maintained for the entire duration of the intended culture period. In the histopathological assessment, explant skin cultures showed ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes and segmental necrosis starting at day 5 of culturing. Initially, basal keratinocytes in the organotypic model differentiated as demonstrated by positive Keratin 14, Desmoglein-1, Loricrin, and Involucrin immunofluorescent stainings. Ki-67 was observed occasionally and suprabasally still after 21 days of culture.

Both in vitro models proved dependable and constitute a viable option for replacing experiments on live animals, each with its own benefits. Whereas skin explants include all cell types available in vivo and can therefore reflect realistic cell-cell interactions and signaling pathways, the organotypic model offers a higher standardization and reproducibility. Depending on the focus of future studies, both models can be used for specific experimental purposes of bovine dermatological research in general or specialized questions concerning (infectious) claw diseases as, e.g., DD.