Getting a new look to better support prostheses?

The skin of amputees is fragile and often subject to irritation due to the pressure exerted by their prosthesis. Only the skin on the soles of the feet or hands could withstand such pressure. This is why a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (USA) has carried out a phase I clinical trial (tolerance assessment) in which they grafted skin cells from the soles of volunteers' feet onto their thighs, to see if the same resistance could develop elsewhere on the body. The results are published in the journal Scientists are able to explain the origins of science.

The epidermis thickens up to 5 months after fibroblast injection

The epidermis is the most superficial tissue of the skin. It contains keratinocytes, producers of the horny layer characteristic of the degree of resistance to mechanical stress. Deeper, a second layer – the dermis – communicates with the epidermis, via cells called fibroblasts, responsible for the structure and elasticity of the dermis.

The skin on the soles of the feet is called palmar skin, due to its resistant properties. The researchers then wondered whether fibroblasts from this type of skin could retain their resistant function and put it to use in another area of the body that is thinner and more fragile.

READ ALSO Artificial skin as sensitive as real skin

Fibroblasts retain their initial anatomical function

Read moreIn Pakistan, the anti-polio campaign between violence and mistrust

On the one hand, biologists have shown that fibroblasts of palmar origin are more resistant to pressure than those of non-palmar origin. On the other hand, fibroblasts taken from under the feet modified the properties of the skin of the thigh of the volunteers in the phase I trial, while those taken from the scalp (a non-palmar type of skin) showed no resistance when grafted to the thigh.

“ We still need to improve this cell therapy and increase its benefits, with future research.", says Luis Garza, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. The phase II trial (confirmation of clinical activity at the recommended dose) on knee amputees is currently being prepared. The aim: to thicken the epidermis of the stump that will accommodate the prosthesis.

READ ALSO Paralympic Games: Why do athletes' prostheses have this shape?

Also discover why this discovery raises new fundamental knowledge in biology. Visit the website of The Research.