Experimengtal study on repair of swine diabetic skin ulcer with tissue engineering full skin

Objective To construct tissue engineering full skin and to observe its effect in the repair of diabetic ulcer in swine. Methods Dermal substitute was prepared by mixing fibroblasts of young swine with collagen Ⅰ of calf, keratinocytes were then seeded on the substitute, the composite was cultured for 1~2 weeks to form tissue engineering skin. Six 2~3 months old yueke swines were ejected alloxan through vein and then installed a simple press apparatus on the each side of spinal column to form diabetic ulcer animal model. The wounds were shaped by debridement, all the wounds were randomly divided into three groups, there were 24 wounds in A group (tissue engineering skin) and 12 wounds in B group (autogenous shin) and C group (control).The rate of survival, the rate of contraction, and the histological changes in grafting area were observed at 1,2,3,4,6,8 and 12w after the operation. Results The grafts in group A and B adhered tightly to the wounds and grew well; the rate of survival in A group was no obvious difference than in B group(P=0.667); the rate of contraction of A and B group was significantly different than of C group(P0.01); epidermis and dermis can be observed in grafts of A group and the two components changed gradually, the tissue structure of grafts in A group resembled that of normal skin at 12 post-operation weeks. Conclusion Repair of diabetic skin ulcer with tissue engineering full skin is feasible.