Our lips play essential roles in speaking, eating, and breathing. They also reflect our emotions, health, and aesthetic appeal. However, to perform all these roles, the lips rely on a complex structure, making it challenging to treat lip-related issues effectively.
Basic research is crucial to improving treatments for medical problems associated with the lips, but until now, models using lip cells—which behave differently than other skin cells—were not available.
In a study published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, scientists reported the development of immortalized lip cells, which could help create medically relevant lip models in the lab.
Experts suggest that this approach could benefit thousands of patients suffering from lip-related issues.
Dr. Martin Degan from the University of Bern said, “The lips are a very prominent feature of our face. Any defect in this tissue can be highly noticeable. However, there has been a lack of lip cell model-based treatments until now.”
He added that, through strong collaboration with the University Clinic for Pediatric Surgery and Bern University Hospital, they have successfully used lip cell models—including tissues that would otherwise be discarded—to address this gap.
