(LR-031) The cell migration effects of decellularized porcine placental matrix in viable wounded human skin ex vivo
Thursday, May 16, 2024
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM East Coast USA Time
Rocio Burgos Amador, DPharm – Research Advisor, Advanced Wound Care R&D, Convatec Ltd; Leyla Zilic, PhD – Research Advisor, Advanced Wound Care R&D, Convatec Ltd; Daniel Metcalf, PhD – Director, Advanced Wound Care R&D, Convatec Ltd
Introduction: Decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) medical devices can facilitate healing of hard-to-heal wounds by acting as a scaffold that contains collagen, fibronectin, laminin, elastin, hyaluronic acid, and glycosaminoglycans1, while being largely free of cells, cell debris, and DNA. The effects of novel porcine placental decellularized ECM product* on the healing of wounded human skin in a viable ex vivo model was examined using a range of microscopic tissue and cell staining techniques.
Methods: ECM product-treated and -untreated wounded skin models were incubated for up to 6 days. Skin samples were fixed and embedded before performing cross sectioning.Histological characterization was performed to determine the structure of both epidermal and dermal compartments using Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and Masson trichrome staining. Immunolabelling and fluorescence microscopy was used to visualize the binding of Cytokeratin 17 (marker associated with cellular migration) antibody to the tissue.
Results: H&E and Masson staining examination showed cellular migration of keratinocytes with an increase in the inflammatory response via neutrophils and macrophages at the wound edge, suggesting the initial stages of the wound healing. Immunolabelling results showed an increase in the presence of Cytokeratin 17 in the wounded skin sections treated with ECM product compared to the untreated control. This suggested an enhancement in cellular migration when wounded skin was treated with porcine placental decellularized ECM product.
Discussion: The porcine placental decellularized ECM product was shown to stimulate cell migration in an ex vivo wounded skin model using a range of microscopic staining techniques. Further studies in similarly complex models using a range of microscopic and immunological techniques, and examining other cellular responses, may help to confirm these findings.