An organ culture model for examining epidermal desquamation.

The use of organ cultures of mouse ear skin for examining mechanisms of stratum corneum shedding has been investigated. The formation and loss of stratum corneum cells was assessed by electron microscopic autoradiography and from counts of stratum corneum cell layers taken from sections of plastic-embedded specimens. Using media supplemented with cortisone, there was a linear accumulation of stratum corneum cell layers and the rate of epidermal cell formation corresponded approximately to that in vivo. Cells that accumulated at the stratum corneum surface were loose and could consistently be removed by treatment with detergent and ultrasonication indicating the persistence of shedding mechanisms in vitro.