BEHAVIOR OF ADULT HUMAN SKIN IN ORGAN CULTURE .2. EFFECTS OF CELLOPHANE TAPE STRIPPING TEMPERATURE

[摘要] Adult human skin under the standard conditions of this study survives and maintains an organized appearance up to 14 days in vitro. Untreated skin shows a low but steady rate of cell division through the 1st week of culture. Skin specimens which are stripped with cellophane tape prior to cultivation but after excision, show a transient but striking increase in mitotic activity 3 to 4 days after planting; this is similar to the in vivo response to stripping. Lowered temperature retards the mitotic response; 40% C2 dramatically increases the mitotic rate; and a slight alkaline shift of pH of the growth medium from 7.1 to 7.5, although without effect on the mitotic activity of the cultures, induces the continual production of keratohyaline granules. Both stripped and unstripped skin can be successfully maintained in a completely synthetic culture medium. Such preparations are useful for testing the effects of hormones, growth factors and other substances without unknown influences from constituents of serum. Preliminary studies were made with testosterone, ectodermal growth factor, vitamin A, cortisol, and homogenates of previously stripped or unstripped skin.