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Cited by 21Dermatology and Skin DiseasesPsoriasis: Treatment and PathogenesisSkin and Cellular Biology Research

Histological and functional characterization of 3D human skin models mimicking the inflammatory skin diseases psoriasis and atopic dermatitis

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Scheurer, Jasmin, Sauer, Birgit, Focken, Jule, Giampetraglia, Martina, Jäger, Annika, Schürch, Christian M., Weigelin, Bettina, Schittek, Birgit·2024·Disease Models & Mechanisms
DOI 10.1242/dmm.050541PMC PMC10846593
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Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) human skin equivalents have emerged as valuable tools in skin research, replacing animal experimentation and precluding the need for patient biopsies. In this study, we advanced 3D skin equivalents to model the inflammatory skin diseases atopic dermatitis and psoriasis by cytokine stimulation, and were successful in integrating TH1 T cells into skin models to develop an immunocompetent 3D psoriasis model. We performed in-depth histological and functional characterization of 3D skin equivalents and validated them in terms of tissue architecture, pathological changes, expression of antimicrobial peptides and Staphylococcus aureus colonization using 3D reconstruction by multiphoton microscopy and phenotyping by highly multiplexed ‘co-detection by indexing’ (CODEX) microscopy. We show that our skin equivalents have a structural architecture with a well-developed dermis and epidermis, thus resembling human skin. In addition, the skin models of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis show several phenotypic features of inflammatory skin disease, including disturbed epidermal differentiation and alterations in the expression of epidermal barrier genes and antimicrobial peptides, and can be reliably used to test novel treatment strategies. Therefore, these 3D equivalents will be a valuable tool in experimental dermatological research.

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  • aHSE models offer high customization, facilitating control over organotypic cell populations, genotypes, and culture conditions, thereby enabling controlled studies on tissue-level biology.

    “aHSE models offer a high degree of customization, facilitating control over organotypic cell populations, genotypes, and culture conditions, thereby enabling meticulously controlled studies on tissue-level biology [59].”

    From Diversity of human skin three-dimensional organotypic cultures (2024) · cites this paper as [59]

  • The expansion of aHSEs enhances the application of OTC models for investigating therapeutic techniques, particularly in mimicking inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, and in studying skin-related bacterial adhesion and infection.

    “This expansion enhances the application of OTC models for investigating potential therapeutic techniques [18,60], particularly in mimicking inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis [59], while also studying skin-related bacterial adhesion and infection [22,45].”

    From Diversity of human skin three-dimensional organotypic cultures (2024) · cites this paper as [59]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Scheurer, J., Sauer, B., Focken, J., Giampetraglia, M., Jäger, A., Schürch, C. M., Weigelin, B., & Schittek, B.
Affiliations
  • Universitätsklinikum Tübingen (DE)
  • University of Tübingen (DE)
Corresponding author
Schittek, Birgit
ORCID
Venue
Disease Models & Mechanisms
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Published
2024-01-01
Volume
17
Issue
1
ISSN
  • 1754-8403 (ISSN-L)
  • 1754-8411
DOI
10.1242/dmm.050541
PMC
PMC10846593
OpenAlex
W4391109243
Cited by
21
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5
FWCI
8.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Disease Models & Mechanisms (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SCHI510-12/1, EXC 2180e390900677, TR156)
  • Medizinischen Fakultät, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (2022-1-22)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Psoriasis: Treatment and Pathogenesis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Skin and Cellular Biology Research
Keywords
3D skin equivalents, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory skin diseases, Th1 cells, antimicrobial peptides, Staphylococcus aureus colonization, epidermal differentiation, multiphoton microscopy, alternatives to animal testing
MeSH terms
Antimicrobial Peptides, Animals, Dermatitis, Atopic, Epidermis, Humans, Psoriasis, Skin

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