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Kangstem Biotech strives to develop an innovative new drug for patients suffering from rare and incurable diseases.
Kangstem Biotech Develops Next-Generation Skin Organoid Platform with Vascular and Immune Functions… Published in a 'Nature' Portfolio Journal
07
2026.10
- Opening New Horizons in Skin Disease Therapeutics with a Skin Assembloid that Mimics Human Skin
Kangstem Biotech has developed a Vascularized Skin Assembloid technology that integrates vascular and immune functions into skin organoids. The model enables researchers to study skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and evaluate how therapeutic agents work in a laboratory setting. The findings were published in the international journal ‘Experimental & Molecular Medicine (EMM)’ and made available through the Nature online platform.
■ Adding Vascular and Immune Functions to “Mini-Organ” Skin Models
Organoids are miniature structures that mimic the structure and function of human organs using stem cells and other biological materials. Conventional skin organoids, however, have limitations in incorporating blood vessels and immune functions.
To overcome these limitations, Professor Kyung-Sun Kang of Seoul National University, also Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Kangstem Biotech, combined skin organoids with vascular organoids. The resulting model features epidermal and dermal structures, hair follicles, nerve-associated structures, and vascular networks. Immune cells were also incorporated to enable the study of interactions between blood vessels and immune cells in human skin.
■ Reproducing Atopic Dermatitis-Like Inflammation and Responses to Treatment
The team treated the model with house dust mite extract to induce inflammation associated with atopic dermatitis. This reduced filaggrin (FLG), a key skin barrier protein, and increased skin cell stress responses and immune cell infiltration. Inflammatory mediators associated with atopic dermatitis, including IL-4, IL-13, TSLP, CCL17, and CCL26, also increased. These findings demonstrate that the model can reproduce allergen-induced skin barrier disruption and inflammation.
The team then tested ‘upadacitinib’ and ‘dupilumab’, both used to treat atopic dermatitis. The treatments improved skin barrier-related markers and reduced inflammatory signals. Both also showed responses consistent with their known mechanisms of action, including reduced STAT6-related inflammatory signaling.
■ A New Platform for Skin Disease Drug Development
An important step in drug development is assessing whether candidate compounds may be effective in human diseases.
The vascularized, immune-integrated skin organoid may support research into inflammatory skin diseases, evaluation of drug candidate efficacy and mechanisms of action, and the development of new therapeutics.
A research director at Kangstem Biotech commented, “This study goes beyond creating a model that merely resembles human skin. By integrating vascular and immune functions, we have developed a model that reproduces disease-related responses and enables the evaluation of therapeutic responses. We will continue to advance this platform for research into various skin diseases and drug development.”