An innovative approach to research on the interactions between skin cells

Human skin is exposed to damage, UV radiation, pathogens, and allergens. It contains many types of cells, including keratinocytes, melanocytes, fibroblasts, and mast cells. Skin is a complex structure with numerous interactions occurring between its cells, whose co-functioning ensures the normal functioning of this tissue. In pathological states, intercell interactions prove to be equally important and in the case of cancer transformations, among other things, they may either stimulate or hinder cancer growth. One of the crucial interactions is the impact of mast cells on other types of cells. These processes are of interest to Anna Sobiepanek, DSc at the WUT Faculty of Chemistry.

“My experience during writing a doctoral thesis on the use of biophysical methods for in vitro diagnostics of melanoma under the supervision of Professor Tomasz Kobiela at the Warsaw University of Technology and, later, a foreign internship in a team conducting research on mastocytosis under the supervision of Professor Markus Maurer at the Klinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie at Charité - Universitätsmedizin in Berlin allowed me to determine my own scientific path inspired by the gained experience,” says Dr Sobiepanek.

Under the BIOTECHMED-2 Start grant from the Research Centre POB Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering, a team of researchers under the supervision of Dr Sobiepanek, consisting of the representatives of the WUT Faculty of Chemistry,  Centre for Advanced Materials and Technology (CEZAMAT) and the Medical University of Warsaw have undertaken research on interactions between mast cells and selected types of cells, including keratinocytes, melanocytes, and fibroblasts as well as cells of squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Currently, research focuses on two research paths: observations of the mechanism of real-time mastocyte degranulation and the analysis of the impact of metabolites released from mast cells on other skin cells.

“My experience during writing a doctoral thesis on the use of biophysical methods for in vitro diagnostics of melanoma under the supervision of Professor Tomasz Kobiela at the Warsaw University of Technology and, later, a foreign internship in a team conducting research on mastocytosis under the supervision of Professor Markus Maurer at the Klinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie at Charité - Universitätsmedizin in Berlin allowed me to determine my own scientific path inspired by the gained experience,” says Dr Sobiepanek.

Under the BIOTECHMED-2 Start grant from the Research Centre POB Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering, a team of researchers under the supervision of Dr Sobiepanek, consisting of the representatives of the WUT Faculty of Chemistry,  Centre for Advanced Materials and Technology (CEZAMAT) and the Medical University of Warsaw have undertaken research on interactions between mast cells and selected types of cells, including keratinocytes, melanocytes, and fibroblasts as well as cells of squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Currently, research focuses on two research paths: observations of the mechanism of real-time mastocyte degranulation and the analysis of the impact of metabolites released from mast cells on other skin cells.

Innovative solutions

In the biophysical analysis of the release of various mediators from mast cells, researchers use two modern research techniques which facilitate monitoring real-time changes in cells: quartz crystal microbalances with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and multi-parametric surface plasmon resonance (MP-SPR). A meticulous analysis of physiological processes occurring in the body conducted with these methods will allow us to understand the operation mechanisms of numerous processes and will support the diagnostics and treatment of pathological skin conditions.

“We can observe what happens in skin even under a microscope but what we see is only a part of the information which we can obtain,” says Dr Sobiepanek. “We do not know after how long exactly cells begin to react to released mediators by increased protein production, for instance. Our research aims to demonstrate that. We are analyzing what happens in real time, and not the outcome of a given process only,” she explains.  

This is not the only innovation of the project. Scientists have decided to conduct research on different types of cells from the same single donor.

“Most frequently, laboratory research is conducted on cell lines coming from the cell bank, and usually cells come from different donors,” says Dr Sobiepanek. “For cells isolated from a single donor, and, consequently, with one genetic profile, we can observe almost real-like interactions between diverse types of cells, although research is conducted on an in vitro model. This is crucial for research on immunological cells such as mast cells, which when interacting with a foreign cell may release mediators aiming to eliminate the foreign cells from the environment,” she explains. 

Plans for future

Research under the POB BIB grant is currently being conducted on a monolayer of cells (2D models), but scientists are already thinking about the future and planning more research which will be conducted on advanced 3D co-culture models. Thanks to the developed models of skin equivalents (a completed Rector’s grant for student research groups under the acronym SKIN-ART, financed under the  “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme, head of the project: Anna Sobiepanek, DSc, researchers: students from the Biotechnology Research Group “Herbion” at the Faculty of Chemistry at WUT), it will be possible to check mediators impact on the constructed artificial skin model.

“This kind of research should start with simple models in which the impact of a given mediator is analysed for single grown cultures of various cell types. Consequently, with the increasing model complexity or many mediators acting at the same time, it will be possible to define more precisely the occurring interactions,” says Dr Sobiepanek.

Project “Biophysical characteristics of the interaction of mast cells with other skin cells during inflammation, allergy and cancer progression” is financed under the research grant of the Research Centre POB Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering of the “Excellence Initiative - Research University” programme implemented at the Warsaw University of Technology.  

Research team:

Anna Sobiepanek, DSc; Monika Staniszewska, MD, PhD (CEZAMAT); Aneta Ścieżyńska, MD, PhD (WUM); Ryszard Galus, MD, PhD, and doctoral students: Marta Soszyńska, MMed (WUM); Adrianna Maria Piasek (WUT) and students of Faculty of Chemistry at WUT: Justyna Badowska, BSc; Paulina Musolf, Eng; Aleksandra Adamczak, Eng, and Magda Gapińska.