EpiDerm-201TM
Under-developed Skin Model
- Partially Cornified Epidermal Structure
- Useful Tool to Study Modulators of Epidermal Differentiation
- 3 Days Younger than Standard EpiDerm (EPI-200)
- Differentiates into EPI-200
- Highly Reproducible
- Easily Handled Cell Culture Inserts
- NHEK-Based Skin Model
- Completely Serum-Free Media System
The EpiDerm-201 tissue model (EPI-201) is cultured in an identical manner to standard EpiDerm™ (EPI-200) except that the culture period is shortened by 3 days. The resulting EPI-201 tissue is thus less mature in terms of epidermal development. For example, histologically the spinous, granular, and stratum corneum layers are less developed than those in EPI-200 and the barrier function of EPI-201 is reduced. Because it is less developed, the EPI-201 tissue offers researchers the ability to investigate the effect of compounds designed to modulate earlier stages of epidermal differentiation.
Similar to EPI-200, the EPI-201 tissue consists of normal, human-derived epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) which have been cultured to form a multilayered, metabolically and mitotically active, differentiating model of the human epidermis. Upon receipt, EPI-201 tissue can be returned to culture for an additional 3 days to produce a tissue which is nearly identical to standard EPI-200.
Various skin care and personal care companies are actively seeking alternatives to expensive, often highly-variable clinical testing. EPI-201 offers a cost-effective means to study modulators of epidermal differentiation or the effect of other active compounds on the skin. In addition, the EPI-201 tissue offers the advantage that specific epidermal phenomena (enzymatic activity, gene expression, cytokine production, etc) are more easily isolated and studied than in the clinical, more complex in vivo system.
Many of the standard protocols used for the EPI-200 system are easily adapted for use in the EPI-201 cultures. The use of cell culture inserts allows actives to be applied topically or into the medium (similar to sub-cutaneous administration). In addition, EpiDerm's rigid substrate make the tissue construct easy to handle and manipulate. Finally, EPI-201 (similar to EPI-200) is cultured in completely serum free medium, avoiding any undesirable interactions between test compounds and the numerous undefined components present in fetal bovine serum.
Histological cross-sections of EPI-201 tissues and their response to the positive control, 1% Triiton X-100, are shown in Figures 1-4. The effects of continuing EPI-201 tissues in various culture media are shown in Figure 5.
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Figure 1: Histological cross-section of EPI-201 tissue. Underdeveloped spinous, granular, and stratum corneum layers are apparent in comparison to those of normal human skin and the standard EPI-200 tissue shown in Figure 3. Final magnification = 440X. (Click on photo to see larger image.)
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Figure 2: EPI-201 tissue, after storage for 24 hours at 4°C, was returned to culture for 3 days at 37°C and fed with 5.0 ml of EPI-201 differentiation medium (EPI-100-DM). Final magnification = 320X. (Click on photo to see larger image.)
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Figure 3: Standard EPI-200 tissue grown in parallel with the EPI-201 tissue of Figure 2. Final magnification = 320X. (Click on photo to see larger image.)
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Figure 4: Effect of Triton X-100 on the viability of tissue shown in Figures 1-3. 100 ml of 1% Triton X-100 were applied topically to the air-exposed surface of the tissues for specified time periods and MTT cell viability assays were run. The viability of the EPI-201 tissue was decreased to 50% of controls in 2 hrs while EPI-200 and re-cultured EPI-201 tissues still had 50 % viability after 7-9 hrs. These results imply that the barrier function of the EPI-201 is significantly decreased in comparison to that of EPI-200. (Click on table to see larger image.)
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Figure 5A. Click on photo to see larger image.
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Figure 5B. Click on photo to see larger image.
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Figure 5C. Click on photo to see larger image.
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Figure 5D. Click on photo to see larger image.
Figure 5. Effect of culturing EPI-201 for 3 days with the following media:
A) Standard EPI-200 medium (used to produce EPI-200),
B) EPI-200 medium plus 5 x 10-9 M retinoic acid,
C) EPI-200 medium without growth factors and hormones, or
D) DMEM alone.
EPI-201 cultures were fed 5.0 ml of medium on Days 1 and 2 and fixed on Day 3.
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(See also EpiDerm Skin Model)
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Please Also Review:
Guide to In Vitro Tissue Model Basics
EpiDerm-201 Specification Sheet
EpiDerm-201 Technical References
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