Recellularized human dermis for testing gene electrotransfer ex vivo.

Gene electrotransfer (GET) is a proven and valuable tool for in vivo gene delivery to a variety of tissues such as skin, cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, and tumors, with controllable gene delivery and expression levels. Optimizing gene expression is a challenging hurdle in preclinical studies, particularly for skin indications, due to differences in electrical conductivity of animal compared to human dermis. Therefore, the goal of this study was to develop an ex vivo model for GET using recellularized human dermis to more closely mimic human skin. Decellularized human dermis (DermACELL(®)) was cultured with human dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes for 4 weeks. After one week of fibroblast culture, fibroblasts infiltrated and dispersed throughout the dermis. Air-liquid interface culture led to epithelial cell proliferation, stratification and terminal differentiation with distinct basal, spinous, granular and cornified strata. Firefly luciferase expression kinetics were evaluated after GET of recellularized constructs for testing gene delivery parameters to skin in vitro. Elevated luciferase expression persisted up to a week following GET compared to controls without electrotransfer. In summary, recellularized dermis structurally and functionally resembled native human skin in tissue histological organization and homeostasis, proving an effective 3D human skin model for preclinical gene delivery studies.