Tissue engineering and the development of Apligraf, a human skin equivalent
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Updated: Oct 31, 2026

Generation of Self-assembled Vascularized Human Skin Equivalents
Published on: February 12, 2021
1Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida, USA.
Abstract:
In recent years, skin grafting has evolved from the initial autograft and allograft preparations to biosynthetic and tissue-engineered living skin replacements. This review details the pioneering work of numerous investigators that led to the following precursors of tissue-engineered skin replacement: cultured autologous keratinocyte grafts, cultured allogeneic keratinocyte grafts, autologous/allogeneic composites, acellular collagen matrices, and cellular matrices. It also discusses the rationale for the development of the newer products and describes the technical advances leading to the development of Apligraf, a tissue-engineered human skin product.
