ABSTRACT
A wide range of dermatological diseases manifest epidermal pathology that may arise from the epidermal compartment itself, the neighboring tissues of the skin, or from external or internal factors that exert their pathological influences on the epidermis. The predominant cell type that composes the epidermis is the keratinocyte. Both keratinocytes and a minor population of cells in the epidermis, melanocytes, can be routinely cultivated. The epidermal keratinocyte is derived from embryonic ectoderm and forms a stratified and cornified epithelium designated the epidermis. Cultured keratinocytes normally retain the capacity to differentiate and form a stratified epithelium in culture. A host of dermatological diseases have been examined using one or more cultured keratinocyte systems. Many dermatological diseases demonstrate histological involvement of the epidermis. Cultured keratinocyte models that have been used to investigate dermatological diseases primarily involving the epidermis are listed. Other diseases also have been studied, using various cultured keratinocyte systems as models, and they include cutaneous infectious diseases.
