Generation of a Full-Thickness Human Skin Equivalent on an Immunodeficient Mouse

Abstract

Human skin equivalents composed of epidermal cells and fibroblasts are important for modeling human epidermal development, testing new therapeutics, and designing novel treatment strategies for human skin diseases. Here, we describe a procedure for the generation of an in vivo full-thickness human skin equivalent on an immunodeficient mouse using a grafting chamber system. The protocol involves mixing human epidermal cells and fibroblasts in a silicone grafting chamber that is surgically inserted onto the muscle fascia of a recipient immunodeficient mouse. Following the removal of the silicone chamber, the graft area is exposed to air to induce stratification of developing epidermis, resulting in the reconstitution of full-thickness human skin tissue on a live mouse. This grafting system provides a straightforward approach to study human skin diseases in an animal model and has been previously used to determine the ability of both mouse and human primary epidermal cells and cells derived from pluripotent stem cells to regenerate functional skin in vivo.