Figure 1.

Generation of burn wounds in reconstructed human epidermis and analysis of viability. (A) Schematic overview of the burning process. Models were burned on day 12 of culture by contact with a preheated metal rod for seven seconds. Wound healing and viability were monitored for 14 days, with one experimental group being treated by topical application of 5% dexpanthenol. (B) Viability in percentage normalized to the unwounded control group. Viability was measured for burned and surrounding area separately. Viability of surrounding tissue showed significant differences for the group treated with 5% dexpanthenol on day 14 after burning. Wounded area showed significantly decreased values of viability on all days for burned models and models treated with dexpanthenol. (3 biological replicates in independent test runs with 3 technical replicates each; mean values ± SD; 2way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001 compared to the control. ° p < 0.05 compared to burned models). (C) Evaluation of burned surface area showed decreasing wound area with significantly lower values on day 14. (3 biological replicates in independent test runs with 3 technical replicates each; mean values ± SD; Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparisons test, **** p < 0.0001 compared to the initial burned area on day 1).