The study was conducted on artificial human skin
A research group at the University of Copenhagen succeeded in blocking the invasive growth of skin cancer models by using human artificial skin.
The study, published in Science Signaling, looks at what really happens when cells turn into cancer cells.
“We have been studying one of the cell signaling pathways, the so-called TGF beta pathway. When these mechanisms are impaired, cells can transform into cancerous cells and invade surrounding tissues,” says Hans Wandall, professor of cell and molecular medicine at the University of Copenhagen. I’m explaining.
The use of artificial human skin overcomes the potentially problematic hurdle of the transplantability of studies in mouse models into human tissue.
Under normal circumstances, skin cells don’t just invade the subcutaneous tissue and wreak havoc. Instead, they produce new layers of skin. However, when cancer cells appear, the cells no longer respect the boundaries of skin layers and begin to invade each other.This is called invasive proliferation.
Hans Wandall and his colleagues studied the TGFbeta pathway and applied a method to block invasive growth and reduce the invasive growth of skin cancer.
“We already have a variety of drugs that can block these signaling pathways and could potentially be tested. We used several of them in this study,” said Dr. Co-author Sally Dabelsteen explains.
Hans Wandall and Sally Dabelsteen have collaborated with Dr. Zilu Ye and Prof. Jesper V. Olsen of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Protein Research Center, Department of Health Sciences.
“Some of these drugs are already being tested in humans, while others are being tested in relation to other types of cancer. she says.
Artificial skin is closest to real human skin
The artificial skin used by researchers in the new study consists of genetically engineered artificial human skin cells. Skin cells are made in the subcutaneous tissue, which is made up of collagen. This causes the cells to grow in layers, just like real human skin.
Unlike mouse models, skin models, also known as artificial skin, allow researchers to introduce artificial genetic changes relatively quickly, providing insight into the systems that support skin development and regeneration. To do.
In this way, not only skin cancer, but also the development of other skin diseases can be reproduced and tracked.
“The use of artificial human skin overcomes the potentially problematic hurdle of whether the results of testing in mouse models can be transplanted into human tissue. We used a mouse model in our study, and instead we can conclude that these substances are probably not harmful, and that they may actually work, because the artificial skin is what we see in human reality. This is because it means closer to
The artificial skin used by researchers resembles the skin used to test cosmetics in the EU, which banned animal testing in 2004. But artificial skin does not allow researchers to test the effects of drugs on whole organisms, notes Hans Wandall. Skin models like the one used here have been used by cosmetic companies since the mid-1980s.
“We focus on the individual organ, the skin, to study its effects and gain experience with how the molecules work, while determining whether they damage the structure of the skin and healthy skin cells. I will try,” he says.
Original: Artificial human skin paves the way for new skin cancer treatment
Than: University of Copenhagen
