The Use of HuEpiderm for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Biomaterials in Skin Repair

In vitro experiments, a crucial component of preclinical research, are widely used due to their accessibility and controlled conditions. However, traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell models are limited in their ability to simulate the complex interactions in organ systems. To address it, emerging technologies have shifted cell cultures from 2D to three-dimensional (3D), offering improved in vitro-in vivo correlation for traditional in vitro screening. Reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) is a 3D skin tissue model that closely mimics human skin in both structure and function. We established a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-induced epidermal injury model on RHE, and the result demonstrated that treating RHE with a 2.5 mg/mL SDS solution for 24 h could cause a significant epidermal damage. We also treated it with common clinical repair biomaterials, to screen the key indicator of SDS-induced 3D epidermal injury model, which includes several chemokines such as regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted and interferon-γ-induced protein 10 that triggered inflammatory responses, and the important component protein of barrier structure-filaggrin and loricrin. In this study, we provide a platform for biomaterials evaluation that offers support and complementarities for in vitro experiments of skin repair.