Adipose tissue-derived stem cells ameliorate diabetic bladder dysfunction in a type II diabetic rat model

Diabetes mellitus is associated with a broad constellation of voiding complaints that are often multifactorial and resistant to currently available therapies. The leading causes of diabetic bladder dysfunction (DBD) include alterations in the bladder smooth muscle, neuronal degeneration, and urothelial dysfunction. Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs), a type of mesenchymal stromal cells, have shown promise as a novel tissue regenerative technique that may have utility in DBD. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy and mechanism by which ADSCs may ameliorate DBD in rats fed a high-fat diet and treated with low-dose streptozotocin to induce type II diabetes. Improved voiding function was noted in ADSCs-treated rats as compared with phosphate-buffered saline-treated rats. Though some ADSCs differentiated into smooth muscle cells, paracrine pathway seems to play a main role in this process, thus resulting in reduction of apoptosis and preservation of "suburothelial capillaries network."