Abstract
The keratinocytes are able to migrate from the poly (2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) disc if it is transfered to the new Petri-dish colonized with irradiated 3T3 mouse fibroblasts, and form a ring-shaped colony around the disc. The phenotypic characterization of human keratinocytes migrated from these discs was studied using a group of monoclonal antibodies.
The keratinocytes in the external periphery of the colony of cells which migrated from the disc express the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), alpha 2, alpha 3 chains and alpha 5 beta 1 integrin receptor. A protein of the desmosome complex, desmoplakin-1, was also expressed.
Involucrin and cytokeratin-10 were expressed after prolonged cultivation. These results suggest that the migrated keratinocytes are able to proliferate, recognize extracellular matrix molecules important in the process of the re-epitelization of the wound, and terminally differentiate in vitro.
They are encouraging for further experiments with respect to the development of a support for keratinocyte cultivation and for grafting in clinical practice