3D Bioprinted Psoriasis Model
3D Bioprinted Psoriasis Model
A psoriasis skin tissue is characterized by enhanced proliferation of keratinocytes and angiogenesis followed by infiltration of immune cells. Our fabricated 3-dimensional psoriasis tissue model demonstrated these crucial features and exhibited resemblance to the native scar tissue, including poor differentiation of epidermis to dysregulated and disrupted barrier function of the skin.
ECM deposition observed during psoriatic skin condition.
Characterization:
- Histology: Masson’s trichrome staining revealed a highly disordered epidermal layer of the in vitro tissue model, a distinguishable feature of the native psoriasis skin.
- Protein expression: Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated an enhanced expression of Involucrin with diminishing expression levels of Filaggrin and Loricrin, biomarkers of psoriasis skin. The expression of laminin displayed a discontinuous pattern in psoriasis keratinocytes of our 3D disease model. Further analysis of cytokine expression revealed an increased expression of IL-6, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in the granular layer of keratinocytes.
- Cell Proliferation: Immunolabeling of basal layer ki67 positive cells demonstrated a hyperproliferation characteristic, a distinct feature found in the native psoriasis keratinocytes.
- Lipid organization: ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was used as an analytical tool to measure the lipid organization as a function of temperature to demonstrate the disordered conformation of the psoriatic stratum corneum. A highly disordered organization of lipids was observed, which simulated the features of psoriatic skin.
- Permeability and Percutaneous absorption: The absorption kinetics measured by calculating mean fluxes and permeability profiles showed an increasing trend for the in vitro psoriatic skin model developed, which depicts the coveted outcome of the dysregulated barrier function psoriasis.