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An in vitro Model System to Study the Damaging Effects of Prolonged Mechanical Loading of the Epidermis

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Abstract

Pressure ulcers are areas of soft tissue breakdown that result from sustained mechanical loading of the skin and underlying tissues. Today, little is known with respect to the aetiology of these ulcers. This study introduces an in vitro model system to study the effects of clinically relevant loading regimes on damage progression in the epidermis, the uppermost skin layer. Engineered epidermal equivalents (EpiDerm) were subjected to 6.7 and 13.3 kPa for either 2 or 20 h using a custom-built loading device. Tissue damage was assessed by (1) histological examination, (2) tissue viability evaluation, and (3) by the release of a pro-inflammatory mediator, interleukin-1α (IL-1α). Loading the EpiDerm samples for 2 h increased the IL-1α release, although no visible tissue damage was observed. However, in the 20 h loading experiments visible tissue damage and a small decrease in tissue viability were observed. Furthermore, in these experiments the IL-1α release increased with magnitude of loading. It is concluded that this in vitro model system can be applied to improve insight in the epidermal damage process due to prolonged mechanical loading and can serve as a sound basis for effective clinical identification and prevention of pressure ulcers.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Dr. S. Gibbs and her co-workers at the Department of Dermatology, VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, for their support with the tissue staining and the histological examination. We further thank Dr. J. Engel at the Center for Quantitative Methods in Eindhoven for his help with the statistical analyses. This work was financially supported by SenterNovem, an agency from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Debbie Bronneberg, Carlijn V. C. Bouten, Cees W. J. Oomens, Patricia M. van Kemenade & Frank P. T. Baaijens

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Laboratory for Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Building W-hoog 4.113, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Debbie Bronneberg

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  1. Debbie Bronneberg
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  2. Carlijn V. C. Bouten
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  5. Frank P. T. Baaijens
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Correspondence to Debbie Bronneberg.

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Bronneberg, D., Bouten, C.V.C., Oomens, C.W.J. et al. An in vitro Model System to Study the Damaging Effects of Prolonged Mechanical Loading of the Epidermis. Ann Biomed Eng 34, 506–514 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-005-9062-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-005-9062-8

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