CHARACTERIZATION OF ACELLULAR DERMAL MATRICES (ADMS) PREPARED BY 2 DIFFERENT METHODS

The efficacy of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) in the treatment of full -thickness skin injuries as a dermal substitute depends on its low ant igenicity, capacity for rapid vascularization, and stability as a derm al template. These properties will be determined largely by the final composition of the ADM. We have treated human skin with either Dispase followed by Triton X-100 detergent or NaCl followed by SDS detergent, cryosectioned the resulting ADMs, and then characterized them immunoh istochemically. Staining for cell-associated antigens (HLA-ABC, HLA-DR , vimentin, desmin, talin), extracellular matrix components (chondroit in sulfate, fibronectin, laminin, vitronectin, hyaluronic acid), elast in, and collagen type VII was dramatically reduced or absent from ADMs prepared by both methods. However, significant amounts of elastin, ke ratan sulfate, laminin, and collagen types III and IV were still obser ved in both ADMs. Both methods of ADM preparation resulted in extensiv e extraction of both cellular and extracellular components of the skin but retention of the basic dermal architecture. In general, ADM prepa red by the NaCl-SDS method retained larger amounts of each antigen tha n did that prepared by the Dispase-Triton method. This was most eviden t for laminin and type VII collagen but larger amounts of type IV coll agen, fibronectin, desmin, elastin, and HLA-DR were also evident in th e NaCl-SDS ADM. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd for ISBI. A ll rights reserved.