Human Skin Organ Culture

Reepithelialization is the main process during wound healing that specifically defines the reconstruction of the stratified squamous epithelium. In partial-thickness epidermal wounds, reepithelialization arises from viable epidermal cells at the wound edges as well as from adnexa remaining in the wound bed itself. During the processes involved in epidermal wound healing, keratinocytes undergo a series of behavioral changes including cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation at the wound margins (1 ,2 ). Migration has been shown to be the first event, which includes the movement of suprabasal cells followed by a mitotic burst (3 ,4 ). The process of differentiation of the newly formed epidermis starts at a short distance behind the migrating tips, very early before reepithelialization of the whole wound has been completed (5 ,6 ). These processes are under the influence of chemical attractants, mainly growth factors and extracellular matrix proteins (7 ,8 ).