Towards the development of sensation-enabled skin substitutes

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine
• Tissue Engineering
• Dermatology

Background:

• Recent progress in cell and biofabrication technologies enables the creation of complex human organs, including skin substitutes.
• Current tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) approaches primarily focus on regenerating dermal and epidermal layers.
• The critical aspect of functional innervation, essential for skin sensation, is largely overlooked in existing TERM studies for skin repair.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the significance of sensation in skin, the body's largest sensory organ.
• To address the limitations of current therapeutics in restoring skin sensation after trauma.
• To emphasize the need for investigating the effectiveness of regenerative medicine in enhancing sensory capabilities of skin substitutes.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent advances in cell and biofabrication technologies for skin substitute development.
• Analysis of current TERM studies concerning skin regeneration.
• Discussion on the importance of neural network induction in skin substitutes for sensory restoration.

Main Results:

• Skin substitutes generated via TERM technologies often lack functional innervation, compromising sensory restoration.
• Large non-healing skin wounds exhibit significantly diminished or lost sensation, leading to chronic pain and impaired healing.
• While regenerative medicine studies show potential in inducing neural networks in skin substitutes, their efficacy in enhancing sensory function requires further investigation.

Conclusions:

• Innervation is a critical, yet underappreciated, component for functional skin repair and regeneration.
• Current therapeutic options for restoring skin sensation are limited, necessitating novel approaches.
• Future TERM research must prioritize the development of innervated skin substitutes to fully restore skin function and sensation.