What are the applications of keratinocytes?

One application is the cultivation of keratinocytes in monolayer cell culture. Advances in technology have allowed keratinocytes to be cultured in 2D as well as 3D culture. Normal human epidermal keratinocytes can be isolated from adult human tissue from locations in the body such as the face or abdomen. Keratinocytes can also be characterized at each stage of differentiation. During these stages, keratinocytes express keratins, as well as other markers such as caspase 14, or involucrin. These cells are also used in studies on epidermal development and differentiation, toxicological and pharmaceutical testing, wound-healing research and studies on skin aging. During aging, keratinocytes experience a shorter and fatter morphology. Thus, studies are done to study how keratinocytes age to help develop ways to mitigate the effects of aging on the skin. Wound-healing is another important area of research, as keratinocytes activate Langerhans cells which rush to the site of injuries. This can be studied to develop treatments to enhance the process.