Sequential keratinocytic differentiation and maturation in a three-dimensional model of human artificial oral mucosa

• Published in: Journal of periodontal research Vol. 50; no. 5; pp. 658 - 665
• Main Authors: Viñuela-Prieto, J. M., Sánchez-Quevedo, M. C., Alfonso-Rodríguez, C. A., Oliveira, A. C., Scionti, G., Martín-Piedra, M. A., Moreu, G., Campos, A., Alaminos, M., Garzón, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2015
• Subjects: artificial oral mucosa; Cell Differentiation; desmosomes; Fibrin; Fibroblasts; Humans; intercellular junctions; Keratinocytes; laminin; Mouth Mucosa; Sepharose; Tissue Engineering; laminin; desmosomes; artificial oral mucosa; intercellular junctions
• ISSN: 0022-3484; 1600-0765; 1600-0765
• DOI: 10.1111/jre.12247

Background and Objective Oral mucosa shortage may limit or condition some clinical approaches in maxillofacial, periodontal and implant treatment. The availability of a human oral mucosa model generated by tissue engineering could help clinicians to address the lack of oral mucosa. In this work, we carried out a sequential maturation and differentiation study of the epithelial cell layer of an artificial human oral mucosa substitute based on fibrin–agarose biomaterials with fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Material and Methods Histological, immunohistochemical and gene expression analyses were carried out in artificial human oral mucosa models developed and cultured for 1, 2 and 3 wk. Results Artificial oral mucosa models showed expression of tight junction proteins and cytokeratins from the first week of in vitro development. Mature samples of 3 wk of development subjected to air–liquid conditions showed signs of epithelial differentiation and expressed specific RNAs and proteins corresponding to adherent and gap junctions and basement lamina. Moreover, these mature samples overexpressed some desmosomal and tight junction transcripts, with gap junction components being downregulated. Conclusion These results suggest that bioengineered human oral mucosa substitutes form a well‐developed epithelial layer that was very similar to human native tissues. In consequence, the epithelial layer could be fully functional in these oral mucosa substitutes, thus implying that these tissues may have clinical usefulness.