Human skin grafts on nude athymic mice: a light microscopic stereological study

A morphometric procedure is presented, which allows quantitative information to be obtained from the epidermis at the light microscope level. The application of this procedure to human skin grafted to the nude mouse revealed acanthosis of the grafted epidermis compared to the original donor skin. All epidermal layers were thicker, but the increase in the granular layer was especially marked. The ratio of the basement membrane surface to the epithelial surface showed no significant change. A possible explanation for the acanthosis of the graft might be the higher mechanical stress on the nude mouse compared to the original site on the abdomen. This adaptation of the grafted epidermis does not limit the usefulness of this animal model for dermatological research, when it is assessed by objective methods, allowing statistical comparison as described here.