Thermolysin in human cultured keratinocyte isolation

Abstract

Background: When treating extensively burned patients using cultured epidermal sheets, the main problem is the time required for its production. Conventional keratinocyte isolation is usually done using Trypsin. We used a modification of the conventional isolation method in order to improve this process and increase the number of colonies from the isolated epidermal cell population. Purpose: To compare the action of trypsin and thermolysin in the keratinocyte isolation using newborn foreskin. Methods: This method used thermolysin as it selectively digests the dermo-epidermal junction. After dermis separation, the epidermis was digested by trypsin in order to obtain a cell suspension. Results: Compared to the conventional procedure, these experiments demonstrated that in the thermolysin group, the epidermis was easily detached from the dermis, there was no fibroblast contamination and there were a larger number of keratinocyte colonies which had a significant statistical difference. Conclusion: The number of colonies in the thermolysin group was significantly greater than in the trypsin group.