Recent Studies of Skin Barrier Research = Recent Studies of Skin Barrier Research

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin, functions as skin barrier. The epidermis regulates the outside-in and inside-out penetration of water, nutrients, ions and environmental stimuli. Epidermal cells continuously regenerating, thus to understand dynamically changing characteristics and functions of epidermis, it is important to observe viable epidermal tissues. 3D imaging technique can be used to observe live tissue, however is not suitable for human tissues. Instead, in vitro artificial 3D human epidermis can replace human tissues. 3D skin model is in vitro developed 3-dimensional model mimicking native human skin. It is now broadly used to replacement for animal experiments. 3D skin models have numerous uses. They can be applied to permeability test, toxicity test as well as efficacy test for drugs and cosmetics. In this review, we summarize comprehensive understanding of 3D skin models for skin barrier function study. We report development and application of 3D skin models, current limitations of its use and directions of further investigations.