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Cell identification in primary cell cultures from skin

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Summary

Primary cell cultures can readily be obtained from human skin using the explant method. With special care it is possible to obtain primary cultures consisting of epidermal keratinocytes without fibroblast contamination. By means of differences in their growth patterns and retention of specific differentiative functions in vitro, keratinocytes and fibroblasts can easily be distinguished. The high degree of confidence in establishing cell identity permits meaningful experimental use of this system. The method of enzymatic separation of epidermis from dermis, followed by culture of cells from the dissociated epidermal tissue, provides both epithelial and dendritic cells. The former are probably keratinocytes, whereas the latter are definitely melanocytes. The possibility of eventual fibroblast overgrowth, using this latter method, has not yet been ruled out with certainty.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skin and Cancer Hospital of Philadelphia, Temple University Health Sciences Center, 19140, Philadelphia, Pa

    B. Allen Flaxman

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  1. B. Allen Flaxman
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This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, 1 PO 1 CA 11536, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, 1 PO 1 AM 15515.

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Flaxman, B.A. Cell identification in primary cell cultures from skin. In Vitro 10, 112–118 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02615344

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