Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
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Evaluation of Biomaterials for Bladder Augmentation using Cystometric Analyses in Various Rodent Models
Published on: August 9, 2012
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Multipotent bone marrow cell-seeded polymeric composites drive long-term, definitive urinary bladder tissue
Matthew I Bury1, Natalie J Fuller1, Xinlong Wang2
1Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Surgery, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
PNAS Nexus
|February 12, 2024
Summary
This study presents a novel synthetic scaffold (PRS) combined with stem cells for bladder regeneration, offering a promising alternative to current surgical methods for urinary bladder dysfunction. The PRS scaffold demonstrated superior functional tissue regeneration and fewer complications in a baboon model.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Biomaterials Science
- Urology
Background:
- End-stage urinary bladder dysfunction lacks effective translational solutions.
- Current treatments like bladder augmentation enterocystoplasty (BAE) using intestinal segments have significant complications.
- Previous tissue engineering attempts faced challenges in scaffold integration, cell utility, and animal models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel synthetic scaffold (poly(1,8-octamethylene-citrate-co-octanol) - PRS) combined with stem cells for functional bladder tissue regeneration.
- To compare the efficacy of PRS/stem cell grafts against traditional ileum augmentation and a biological scaffold (small-intestinal submucosa - SIS) in a baboon model.
- To assess long-term functional and histological outcomes of bladder augmentation.
Main Methods:
- Partially cystectomized baboons underwent augmentation with autologous ileum, stem-cell-seeded SIS, or stem-cell-seeded PRS grafts.
- Grafts were co-seeded with autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.
- Functional and histological assessments were performed over a two-year period.
Main Results:
- Stem cell synergism promoted functional trilayer bladder tissue regeneration and whole-graft neurovascularization in both SIS and PRS grafts.
- PRS-augmented baboons exhibited fewer clinical complications and better tissue characteristics compared to ileum and SIS groups.
- Two-year data confirmed robust bladder tissue regeneration driven by PRS/stem-cell grafts.
Conclusions:
- The elastomeric, biomechanocompatible PRS scaffold, when co-seeded with stem cells, supports functional bladder tissue regeneration.
- PRS/stem cell grafts represent a viable alternative to traditional bladder augmentation enterocystoplasty (BAE).
- This approach shows potential for overcoming current limitations in tissue engineering for bladder repair.
