Transplantation of cultured mucosal epithelium: an experimental study

We investigated morphological changes after transplantation of cultured mucosal epithelium using a modified Barrandon's method (1988). Serially cultivated human mucosal epithelium was transplanted onto the reverse side of rectangular dorsal skin flaps in hairless mice. The morphological changes in the epithelium were studied using paraffin sections. The modified Barrandon's method used in this study has advantages such as minimum external trauma and less chance of infection. The cultured epithelium was taken within 1 week and gradually increased its epithelial thickness. Keratinized epithelium arises after 3 weeks. At 4 weeks after grafting, the grafted epithelium comprised 7-10 cell layers. The structure of transplanted tissue, in conjunction with surrounding connective tissues, showed dermis-like features at day 7 after transplantation. From these results, it was confirmed that cultured mucosal epithelium could be successfully transplanted and its morphology was similar to that of normal mucosal tissue.