Take a breath: oxygen sensing of epidermal differentiation

Skin serves as a barrier to protect our body from injury, pathogens and trans-epidermal water loss. It is the only tissue directly exposed to oxygen besides lungs. Air exposure is an essential step of in vitro generation skin graft. However, the role of oxygen in this process remains hitherto unclear. Teshima et al. unveiled the impact of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway on epidermal differentiation in three-dimensional skin models. The authors of this work describe how air-lifting of organotypic epidermal cultures impairs HIFs activity, leading to a proper terminal differentiation of keratinocytes and stratification.

Automated summary

Skin acts as a barrier to protect the body and is directly exposed to oxygen. The role of oxygen in in vitro generation of skin graft is not clear. Teshima et al. discovered the impact of the HIF pathway on epidermal differentiation in skin models and how air-lifting of cultures affects HIF activity and keratinocyte differentiation.