Figure 1

Developing a method for implanting human tissue into the ear pinna of immunocompromised mice. (a) Schematic of the model. (b) Human subcutaneous fat was collected from routine surgeries and dissected into 3–5mm² sized pieces before being embedded in Matrigel (c) which promoted the outgrowth of blood vessels (red arrows). (d) Comparisons of Matrigel embedded versus non Matrigel embedded tissues indicated an increase in the number of endothelial cells in embedded tissues. (e) The surgery was performed by (i) affixing the ear pinna to a syringe and injecting 50 µl of saline to create a pocket. (ii) A hole was created using forceps. (iii) Scissors were inserted in this hole and used to create a flap. (iv) Curved forceps were used to split the skin apart to create a larger pocket. (v) The superior skin was retracted and (vi) the human tissue was inserted. (vii) The incision was sealed with glue and the mouse recovered. (f,i) Ears implanted with human tissue using a previous method²³ did not heal well. (ii) Ears implanted with tissue using the new method healed well three weeks post-surgery and resembled the (iii) control ear. (d) n = 8, pooled from two independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed using a Mann Whitney test, **p < 0.01.