Study of Immune Tolerance and Capacity for Wound Healing of Patients With Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB)

Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) is one of the most severe rare inherited skin disorders affecting children and adults. Current medical care protocols for RDEB patients are limited to palliative procedures to treat blistering and erosive lesions, wounds, and severe local and systemic complications such as fusion and contracture of the digits, skin cancer, esophageal stricture, severe anemia, infections, malnutrition and growth retardation. However, current medical treatments still cannot prevent the recurrence of the lesions arising from defective expression of type VII collagen (COL7A1), the main constituent of anchoring fibrils which form essential structures for dermal-epidermal adherence. The purpose of this study is to investigate the capacity of keratinocytes and fibroblasts to repair skin wounds in patients suffering from Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB).