Evening star., 1953-10-14
Scientists Produce
Cells of Human Skin
Moy Be Medical Advance
Of Extreme importance
By Thomas R. Henry

By Thomas R. Henry
Scientists at the Public Health
Services National Cancer Institute at
Bethesda have at last succeeded in
producing pure cultures Of the epi-
thelial cells of human skin.
They have also produced pure cul-
lures Of the endocrine cells of the
human placenta which continue. in
bottles. to secrete one Of the essential
sex hormones, gonadotropin.
DR.. w. r. Earle, for whom this ac-
compliShment represents the climax Of
nearly is years of intensive research,
believes that with techniques similar
to those used with skin and placenta,
it will be possible to obtain pure cul-
lures of every type of cell in the human
body which has a nucleus. This leaves
out, for the time being, red blood cells
and few others.
In other words DR.. Earle and his
associates, starting with a single cell,
can reproduce it-theoretically- as
great quantities as desired. Each of
the derived cells has the same func-
ton, although it may not be an exact
VI Vic OIlSlIld1 CCl1 1IOI1
which it started. Skin epithelium con-
tinueS to be skin epithelium, and
mouse liver continues to be mouse
liver.
No Skin Yet.
The skin cell cultures are their latest
ccomplishment. They are not, as yet,
actually making human skin in form
that would be recognizable as such. The
stuff in one of their bottles is little
cloudy mass floating in a clear liquid
composed of embryonic fluid from incu-
bated chicken eggs and blood plasma
from horses. This cloudy patch consists
of skin epithelial cells, each of which
is an essentially independent micro
Scopic animal. Each eventually splits
in two-or three or four-producing
exact duplicates of itself. Whatever
binds actual epithelial cells together to
form skin is lacking. This cloudy little
mass presumably is immortal. The cells,
for all anybody knows to the contrary,
can go along reproducing themselves
by f1SSion through eternity, so long as
they get something to eat and are kept
in an appropriate environment.
They tend to form a thin sheet on
the walls of the bottle. This sheet still
is not skin, although it approaches it.
The cells still are independent organ
isms. Making real skin out of them
remains for the future. But even SO,
the Navy Medical Corps, which is sup
porting this phase of the research, sees
a great deal of promise for skin graft
ing surgery. Serious burns are rather
common naval casualty. Large areas
of skin often are destroyed in such
cases-far larger than can be restored
by immediate CRAFTS. Such burns are
likely to prove fatal unless the areas
can be covered with some homogeneous
material while smaller CRAFTS are made
from the victims own uninjured skin.
Hope Is Seen.
The hope is that If such a large
burned area is covered Immediately
with culture of DR.. Earle's epithelial
cells, they Immediately will start to
cOalesce into layer of something very
close to actual, living human skin which
will at least serve as a protection until
the appropriate CRAFTS are made. The
present practice is to use skin of dead
men. It works quite we'll for time.
Living skin would be better, although it
Is not expected that it would pefma-
nently take the place of CRAFTS.
Any skin which could be made in
a test tube would not be complete
human skin, DR.. Earle explains. Epi-
thelial cells, however, are the major
constituent. In addition there are pig
ment cells, hair follicles and two or
three other kinds of cells-all of
relatively minor Importance and vary
ing greatly from individual to indi-
vidual. All these, also, theoretically
might be propagated in bottles and
conceivably, in some distant future, all
the constituent cells of skin combined
to make actual skin. That, however,
is somewhat beyond the point where
the National Cancer Institute scientists
care to speculate for the present.
The somewhat earlier accomplish
ment of producing cultures or the
-Secreting cells of the
placenta may be of considerably greater
medical Importance in the immediate
future. This particular female sex
hormone can be synthesized and is not
in great demand. But what can be
done with one kind of endocrine cell
may very we'll be done with every
other kind-for example, those Of the
pituitary or adrenal glands. Each.
however, will require special technique
not yet developed. An important pos
sibility is the production of the vital
hormone insulin, which controls the
body's sugar metabolism and becomes
necessary for life in cases of diabetes,
by cell cultures of the so-called Isles
of Langerhans in the pancreas. Insulin
never has been synthesized. 1t can be
obtained only from animals.
Increase Rate Slow.
In both skin and placenta cell cul-
lures, DR.. Earle and his associates say,
rate of cell increase is extremely slow.
At this point they would pass the ball
to the followers of new profession
engineers. At the start of
the last war the life-saving drug peni-
cillin, secretion of mold, was worth
many times its weight in gold. There
were only few ounces in existence.
BY the time of the Normandy inva.
sion the Army was running a penicillin
milk route" to the evacuation and field
The life GOV vino ox+;h;a&sn