Nerve growth factor in normal and psoriatic skin equivalent models

Abstract Our objective was to determine the pattern and time course of nerve growth factor expression in an established skin equivalent model that we have used in the past to study wound healing and psoriasis phenotypes. Skin equivalents were constructed in triplicate using normal neonatal foreskin keratinocytes plated on collagen gels containing fibroblast lines. These lines were derived from five specimens of psoriatic lesions, three specimens of normal skin from patients with psoriasis, and three specimens of eyelid skin from normal donors. Immunohistochemistry and a monoclonal nerve growth factor-b antibody were used to determine the pattern of protein staining over 2 weeks. We looked at the wound healing phenotype using the skin equivalent model for 7–14 days. When keratinocytes invaginate into the dermis of skin equivalents (beginning at around 7 days of growth), dark staining of nerve growth factor was seen under the basal membrane zone, suggesting that nerve growth factor serves in the development of the basal membrane zone and the epidermis, and may influence the migration of nerves through the basal membrane zone into the regenerated skin. Received: 17 July 1997 / Received after revision: 17 February 1998 / Accepted: 10 July 1998