News Release

Growing skin in the lab

Peer-Reviewed Publication


Using reprogrammed iPS cells, scientists from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Japan have, along with collaborators from Tokyo University of Science and other Japanese institutions, successfully grown complex skin tissue--complete with hair follicles and sebaceous glands--in the laboratory. They were then able to implant these three-dimensional tissues into living mice, and the tissues formed proper connections with other organ systems such as nerves and muscle fibers. This work opens a path to creating functional skin transplants for burn and other patients who require new skin.

Research into bioengineered tissues has led to important achievements in recent years--with a number of different tissue types being created--but there are still obstacles to be overcome. In the area of skin tissue, epithelial cells have been successfully grown into implantable sheets, but they did not have the proper appendages--the oil-secreting and sweat glands--that would allow them to function as normal tissue.




