Reconstruction of bladder tissue using tissue-engineering technique / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of reconstruction of artificial bladder tissue using the expanded bladder cells seeded onto both sides of a synthetic PLGA polymer and cultured in the nude mice by tissue engineering technique. Methods The urothelial cells and smooth muscle cells were obtained from young rabbits by mechanical isolation and enzyme digestion method. In vitro cultured and expanded smooth muscle cells and urothelial cells were seeded onto the outer and inner surfaces of each polymer. Then, the constructs were implanted into the subcutaneous pockets of athymic mice. At 4 and 8 weeks after implantation, the specimens were harvested and examined macroscopically, histologically, and immunohistochemically. Results The polymer was covered with urothelial cells inside and smooth muscle cells outside. As polymer degradation was in progress, the urothelial cells and the smooth muscle cells kept proliferation and converged. Conclusion Artificial bladder tissue reconstructed by tissue engineering technique has the similar properties to those of the normal bladder wall. This study has laid solid foundation for further studies of tissue engineering bladder.