Table 1.
Overview of studies describing the use and the culture of various cells in the context of urethral TE
| References | Cell type | Scaffold | Number of passage used for experiment | Culture (weeks) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shuai et al.13 | human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells | No | 3 to 6 | 2 | Differentiation of hUCMSCs into urothelial cells in vitro: morphology of hUCMSCs changed from spindle-shape to a polygonal epithelial shape; expression of CK18 and UPII observed in the culture of hUCMSCs in UC-CM+ exogenous EGF. |
| Li et al.14 | autologous rabbit oral keratinocytes, transforming growth factor-ß1 small interfering RNA-transfected fibroblasts | Bladder acellular matrix graft | 2 (oral keratinocytes) | 1 | tissue engineered mucosa successfully repaired urethral defect in animal model, no signs of stricture or fistula observed |
| Lang et al.15 | Urine-derived stem cells | No | 2 | 3 | defining USCs after preservation in urine for 24 h: rice grain shape in primary culture, expressed surface markers characteristic for mesenchymal stem cells and displayed bipotent differentiation capability, urothelial cell-specific markers expressed when exposed to urothelial differentiation medium |
| Sun et al.16 | Hypoxia-activated human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, skeletal muscle cells (rabbit) | No | – | 3 | vessel structures and muscle fibers were observed in engineered, pre-incubated constructs after three weeks; constructs used as grafts for urethral reconstruction could repair defected urethras without developing stricture, fistula or pseudo-diverticulum |
| Chun et al.17 | Autologous healthy urethral muscle and endothelial tissue | Porcine bladder acellular matrix | – | – | tissue/scaffold construct could anatomically and histologically repair defected urethra, thick urothelial layer, circular bundles of smooth muscle and vascularization were present in the neo-urethral tissue |
| Wang et al.18 | Adipose-derived stem cells (canine) | Polyglycolic acid | 1 | Induction of canine adipose-derived stem cells by 5-azacytidine performed for four weeks; cell-scaffold construct cultivated statically for one week and for five weeks in a bioreactor | Adipose-derived stem cells acquired myoblast phenotype; muscular tube successfully engineered |
| Zhang et al.19 | Human adipose-derived stem cells | No | 3 | Induction using conditioned medium or indirect co-culture methods; culture lasted for 1–3 | human adipose-derived stem cells demonstrated the potential to differentiate towards urothelium-like cells |
| Li et al.20 | Epithelial-differentiated rabbit adipose-derived stem cells | bladder acellular matrix graft | 3 | Adipose-derived stem cells were induced in epithelial-specific culture system for 12 days; cell-scaffold construct cultivated for a week | Epithelial-differentiated rabbit adipose-derived stem cells differentiated into urothelium |
| Kang et al.21 | Urine stem cells, adipose-derived stem cells (human) | No | 3, 5, 7 | Incubation lasted for two weeks, in vitro multi-lineage differentiation: culture terminated at day 7 for neuron, day 14 for adipocyte,osteoblast and myocyte, day 21 for endothelium and chondrocyte | Morphology differences: urine-derived stem cells had cobble stone-like shape, adipose-derived stem cells had spindle-shaped morphology; analysis of colony formation and multi-lineage differentiation showed better results for urine-derived stem cells |
| Rogovaya et al.22 | Autologous epidermal rabbit-labeled keratinocytes | – | – | – | graft composed of living skin equivalent with labeled keratinocytes could repair damaged urothelium |
TE: tissue engineering