Stem Cells Helpful for Burn Victims

In that cell therapy for large burns involves a lengthy process by which a patient’s own skin cells are grown in the laboratory to replace damaged skin, Hind Guenou, from INSERM (France), and colleagues have developed a technique by which they have produced skin grafts from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), which employs a 40-day long pharmacological treatment that drives the stem cells to form a group of cells that functioned collectively as an epidermis.  After grafting the cells onto mice, the cells formed a structure consistent with human skin.  The researchers conclude that: “hESCs can be differentiated into basal keratinocytes that are fully functional—ie, able to construct a pluristratified epidermis. This resource could be developed to provide temporary skin substitutes for patients awaiting autologous grafts.”