Maintenance of Epidermal Structures of Psoriatic Skin in Organ Culture

Abstract

A method for maintaining the epidermal structures of the normal human and uninvolved and involved psoriatic skin explants in organ culture was described. Skin explants were put in diffusion chambers made of millipore filters, which were then submitted to a roller tube culture at 15 rpm and 32°C. With a gas phase of air + 5% CO2 (phase A), both normal and psoriatic skin explants in culture showed parakeratosis or degeneration of their epidermal cells; with a gas phase of either 50% O2 + 45% N2 + 5% CO2 (phase B) or 95% O2 + 5% CO2 (phase C), they showed neither parakeratosis nor degeneration of epidermal cells and maintained their original structures for 14 days. Autoradiographically, the number of thymidine‐3H (3H‐TdR) labeled epidermal cells in organ culture was greater in involved psoriatic skin explants than in uninvolved ones. Isoproterenol‐stimulated cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels were lower in involved psoriatic epidermis of skin explants than in uninvolved ones, and plasminogen activator activity was higher in the former than in the latter. Addition of dexamethasone normalized the keratinization of the involved psoriatic explant in culture, but addition of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (db cAMP) and dibutyryl cyclic GMP (db cGMP) did not.

Comparative analysis of normal and psoriatic skin both in vivo and in vitro

“…However, all these in vitro systems are unsatisfactory as they do not precisely maintain or reproduce the psoriatic phenotype. Rapid degeneration and acantholysis are observed in organ cultures of psoriatic lesions after only 5 days of culture [25,27,38]. Chymotrypsin-like enzyme activity could produce acantholysis in the psoriatic biopsies.…”

Human Psoriatic Skin in Organ Culture: Comparison with Normal Skin Exposed to Exogenous Growth Factors and Effects of an Antibody to the EGF Receptor

“…Previous studies have shown that the psoriatic phenotype can be maintained for several days in serum-containing medium [23][24][25][26]. In serum-containing culture medium, growth is promoted, at least in part, by exogenous factors.…”

Anti-CD11a Ameliorates Disease in the Human Psoriatic Skin–SCID Mouse Transplant Model: Comparison of Antibody to CD11a with Cyclosporin A and Clobetasol Propionate

“…No animal disease completely mimics psoriasis (Carroll et al, 1995;Sundberg et al, 1990). Keratinocytes and fibroblasts from psoriatic skin were isolated and studied in monolayer culture (Nickoloff et al 1989;Pellegrini et al, 1992;Priestley, 1987), and psoriatic lesional skin was studied in organ culture (Caron, 1968;Kondo, 1986;Kondo et al, 1992;Mils et al, 1994;Varani et al, 1998). Although some of the phenotypic characteristics of psoriatic lesional skin are maintained under in vitro culture conditions, other characteristics are lost over time (Kondo, 1986;Mils et al, 1994;Varani et al, 1998).…”