Xenograft Rejection
There are numerous types of skin grafts and so far, this blog has discussed different applications for some of these grafts. One type of graft that has not been discussed are xenografts. Similar to most transplants, xenografts often result in rejection. This article discusses a possible method for the inhibition of skin xenograft rejection. Xenografts are often used as temporary skin transplant recipients, such as burn victims, until a proper allograft transplant can be done. The experiment's basic test was to compare the effects of altering T-cell receptors in mice on how long rat grafts survived in the mice. Overall, the experiment had positive results as one variation in the alteration of the T-cell receptor allowed a rat graft in a mouse was able to survive fifty-four days compared to the standard nine. While the experiment does not discuss potential applications for humans (such as a porcine xenograft being used for a burn victim), this study and article shows that there is potential uses for xenografts even though they generally end in rejection by the host body. The use of xenografts is important to current health care debates because allogeneic transplants are not always available when a patient is in desperate need for one (even though this occurs more with other organs than with skin).
Welcome to our Skin Grafts and Transplants blog! Here we hope to detail the procedure, recent issues, research, and relevance to health care policy in the field of skin grafts and transplants.
Skin is the largest organ of the human body, represents about 16% of the total body weight, and covers the large majority of the body. As the external covering of the body, skin is the first line of defense against infection from pathogens in the environment. Skin also provides the sensation of touch and pressure, prevents water loss, insulates the body, and regulates body temperature. Therefore, it is an essential barrier and mediator to the outside world that must be maintained. Primary methods to restore irreversibly damaged skin include skin grafts and transplants.
Skin grafting is a step on the reconstructive ladder for wounds that cannot be closed primarily. The "reconstructive ladder" is a generalized term coined to describe complex stepwise procedure to treat physical external injury. Skin grafting is categorized into five distinct types: Autologous (donor and recipient are the same), Isogeneic (donor and recipient are genetically identical), Allogeneic (donor and recipient are same species), xenogeneic (donor and recipient are of different species), and prosthetic (replacement of lost tissue by synthetic materials).
Skin is the largest organ of the human body, represents about 16% of the total body weight, and covers the large majority of the body. As the external covering of the body, skin is the first line of defense against infection from pathogens in the environment. Skin also provides the sensation of touch and pressure, prevents water loss, insulates the body, and regulates body temperature. Therefore, it is an essential barrier and mediator to the outside world that must be maintained. Primary methods to restore irreversibly damaged skin include skin grafts and transplants.
Skin grafting is a step on the reconstructive ladder for wounds that cannot be closed primarily. The "reconstructive ladder" is a generalized term coined to describe complex stepwise procedure to treat physical external injury. Skin grafting is categorized into five distinct types: Autologous (donor and recipient are the same), Isogeneic (donor and recipient are genetically identical), Allogeneic (donor and recipient are same species), xenogeneic (donor and recipient are of different species), and prosthetic (replacement of lost tissue by synthetic materials).
Sunday, November 22, 2009
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