Developing new drugs and testing their effectiveness requires reliable models that closely mimic what happens in the body. Research from our research group on Tissue Damage Responses in Regeneration and Aging, lead by Mikolaj Ogrodnik, recently published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, shows that skin samples kept alive outside the body (ex vivo skin), when wounded exhibit many key features seen after injury, such as cell aging, programmed cell death, and inflammation. These characteristics make ex vivo skin a valuable tool for studying how skin responds to damage and for testing potential treatments.

Ogrodnik’ group has developed a detailed protocol for working with ex vivo skin, which includes preparing the skin, collecting biopsies, applying drugs to specific areas, incubating the tissue, fixing it for analysis, and evaluating how the drugs affect cell behavior and signaling pathways.

While the procedure is straightforward, it is designed to be accessible to any laboratory interested in studying basic tissue damage and repair processes. This method is cost-effective, reliable, and reproducible, and aligns with ethical research principles aimed at reducing animal use. It can be applied in research, clinical studies, and pharmaceutical development.