In vitro reconstructed skin models play a key role in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and dermatological research, as they represent an ethically acceptable alternative to animal experiments and enable the controlled study of skin responses. Traditional models, such as the reconstructed human epidermis and models of total skin thickness, reconstitute the basic organization of the epidermis and dermis, but due to their limited composition, they do not capture all the characteristics of the skin microenvironment.
In this thesis, we reviewed modern design approaches of reconstructed skin models and evaluated the impact of immune cell and the skin microbiota involvement in their functionality.
We searched the literature in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases and with the academic search engine Google Scholar. Review and original scientific articles were included in the analysis, dealing with classic 3D skin models, immunocompetent models, models with skin microbiota, microfluidic systems, and regulatory-recognized approaches for evaluating the safety and efficacy of dermal products.
Literature analysis has shown that the inclusion of immune cells expands the applicability of the reconstructed models in the study of sensitization, inflammation, wound healing, and chronic skin diseases. The skin microbiota additionally contributes to the modelling of host-microorganism interactions, dysbiosis, and the impact of cosmetic and pharmaceutical substances on the microbial balance of the skin.
The most advanced approaches combine several components of the skin microenvironment, but their use is still limited by technical complexity, biological variability and lack of standardized procedures. The discussed models therefore represent an important research tool, and their further applicability will depend on the harmonization of biological relevance, reproducibility of model preparation and regulatory acceptability.
|
