This piece of skin sweats and has hair like any fragment of human skin. With the difference that this piece is entirely artificial. Once grafted onto a person, this tissue could mimic the natural behavior of human skin, which is to sweat and become covered in hair. This astonishing feat comes from Japanese researchers from the Kiren Center biology laboratory in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Sciences.
The scientists arrived at this result after taking gum cells from a mouse. They managed to make different layers of skin with hair follicles and sweat glands (which secrete sweat). When this artificial tissue was grafted into a mouse with no immune system, it adapted well to its new environment and even covered itself with hair.
Can we deduce that this experience could be transposed to humans? According to the Japanese, this option is possible and could become a reality within five to ten years.
Many prospects
Ultimately, the researchers hope that this system will make it possible to generate perfectly functional tissues. These could be grafted to replace the tissues of the burn victimsor patients with skin diseases.
In the review science advancesthe study also suggests that these artificial fabrics could be exploited by the drug or cosmetics industry, by offering an alternative to animal testing.
Read also: The artificial skin that brings the sensation of touch
First full face transplant performed in the United States
