The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 2006-2007

Skin Explants for Assessment of Cutaneous Reactions to Xenobiotics

Craig Svensson, PhD
The University of Iowa

Skin rashes to chemicals used in a variety of occupational and domestic settings is a common problem that results in discomfort for affected individuals, as well as significant economic costs (estimated to exceed $200 million annually). Currently, new chemical compounds are tested in animals to predict their ability to cause skin rashes in humans. These animal tests are expensive, time consuming, and possess limited predictive capacity. The objective of this project is to develop the means to use waste human skin from surgical procedures as an alternative to animal tests to predict the ability of chemicals to cause skin rashes. Studies have demonstrated that rash-producing chemicals placed on the skin cause the migration of a specific type of cell (dendritic cells) from the skin. These cells are critical in the initiation of an immune response that results in the skin rash. Our project will determine the ability of compounds known to cause skin rashes to provoke the migration of dendritic cells in a human skin explant model. The human skin explant represents small pieces of skin from patients undergoing surgery that requires a reduction in skin. These explants can be maintained for up to 72 hours. We will assess dendritic cell migration from the explants after the application of various chemicals. If successful in demonstrating the ability of such compounds to provoke the migration of dendritic cells, we will then develop the means by which this assessment can be made using an automated system and very small samples.