According to a study published in The Lancet, patients who have been seriously burnt can be treated with skin grafts produced using human embryonic stem cells.

Hind Guenou, Ph. D., of INSERM and the Institute for Stem Cell Therapy and Exploration of Monogenic Diseases in Evry Cedex, France and colleagues write, for two decades patients have benefited from cell therapy, however, the techniques used have limitations.

One of the technique researchers say, involves taking a patient’s own skin cells or keratinocytes, and growing more in the laboratory to replace damaged skin. However, there is a major drawback to this method, as the technique takes three weeks, putting patients at risk of dehydration and infection.

While, it is possible to cover the wounds with specially processed skin from cadavers, availability is limited and the patient’s immune system often rejects the tissue.

The other technique uses artificial nets to grow cells on, however, they do not work on large burns, but only increase the risk of rejection and disease transmission as they contain material from cows and other humans.

For their study, scientists employed pharmacological treatment over
40-days, seeding feeder cells with human embryonic stem cells, driving the latter to form an epidermis i. e. the outer layer of skin.

The scientists claim they were successful in generating a population of cells with all characteristics of the epidermis, which cells when manipulated on an artificial surface were able to form a layer of skin.

The human embryonic stem cells grew into fully formed human skin in
12-weeks after being grafted on to five mice.

Researchers are not sure whether this technology is usable in extending the period required for growing enough cells for a permanent graft, and more research is needed in the future.

Researchers are now planning a human trial of the new technique, which Dr. Christine Baldeschi, who led the research says, the promising results could lead to ‘an unlimited resource for temporary skin replacement in patients with large burns awaiting grafts of their own skin’.