Human SFIs or Skin Fungal Infection is said to affect around 25% of individuals of the earth’s population. The majority of these infections are superficial. But there is a primary limitation of the existing animal models of the human SFIs.
This limitation is the difference between the clinical representation between the animal models and different species, and they don’t reflect the human skin environment correctly. Due to such reasons, an ex vivo skin model was created.
This model was standardized to model the skin fungal infections accurately. Let’s learn about it in detail through this post.
Things to know about the ex vivo human skin model
The ex vivo skin model is known as an experimental model that can reproduce the disease and healthy skin physiology. The overall population of the native skin cell falls under this particular skin model, which includes:
- Keratinocytes
- Langerhans Cells
- Dermal Matrix containing Glycosaminoglycans, Elastin, Collagen, Fibroblasts, etc.
- Melanocytes
A test system is created with the help of an ex vivo human skin model that has the right size and thickness and is cultured at the ALI [Air Liquid Interface]. This test system serves as a crucial tool to have a good understanding of the mechanisms.
These mechanisms are involved in cutaneous disorders along with the effects of the products applied topically. Besides that, it also helps in highlighting the model’s potential when it gets utilized for testing in the future.
Utilizing the human skin in the form of a test system is stated in literature by various researchers. It’s known to represent an experimental model, which is a lot for reliable than the 2-D skin cell, and it’s an excellent alternative for animal skin.
Apart from that, the human skin model is also less invasive when compared to the usage of human skin biopsies. These models are developed with a high level of duplicability so that it’s completely adaptable to various tentative conditions.
The ex vivo human skin model has proven to be an ideal choice for evaluating all types of skin-related conditions, such as:
- AD or Atopic dermatitis
- Skin Barrier Disorders
- Ageing of the HF or Hair follicles
- Photoaging
- Skin Permeation
- Many more
What type of study is the ex vivo human skin model used for?
Applications of this human skin model are based on the human scalp and human abdominal explant cultures. These models get used for conducting the following studies:
- Study of the effects of sun exposure
- Study of AD or atopic dermatitis
- Study of cutaneous permeation
- Study of HFs or hair follicles
All these studies are conducted by researchers to learn and understand how these conditions affect human skin. So, based on that, the researchers developed medications, creams, and ointments to protect and heal skin from such conditions effectively.
Final Thoughts
In today’s modern world, many researchers are utilizing the ex vivo human skin model in place of the animal one. The model is modifiable for countless experiments, and its also highly reproducible. You can go through this post to gain more information about this human skin model, why it was developed, and it’s helping experts greatly.