European Union prohibited the marketing of cosmetic products containing constituents that have been examined through animal experiments. Thus, non-animal test models are needed to replace animal experiments. The reconstructed skin models are important as a test system for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and medical device safety testing. In the present study, we tried to develop an optimal skin equivalent model containing basement membrane and epidermis. For this purpose, we used mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and/or preadipocytes as well as fibroblasts as the dermal matrix cells. The formation of basement membrane and epidermis was verified by immunohistochemical stains. Among various models, the epidermis was thickest when MSCs were used in the dermal matrix. Furthermore, PCNA and involucrin distribution showed that dermal matrix with MSCs resembled human skin. Therefore, skin equivalents with MSCs could be developed as a non-animal test model to replace animal experiments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.