RESUMO
Various types of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been used in urological tissue engineering but to date the existence of MSCs has not been reported in the human bladder. The present study provided evidence that a small number of MSClike cells exist in the human bladder and designated this class of cells 'human bladderderived MSClike cells' (hBSCs). It was demonstrated that hBSCs can be cultured to yield a large population. These hBSCs expressed the surface markers of MSCs and exhibited the capacity for osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. On induction with appropriate media in vitro, hBSCs could differentiate into bladderassociated cell types, including urothelial, endothelial and smooth muscle celllike lineages. In addition, the average telomerase activity of adult hBSCs was higher compared with adult human bone marrowderived MSCs, but lower than that of human umbilical cord Wharton's jellyderived MSCs. These findings may inspire future studies on the role of hBSCs in urological tissue engineering applications and in other fields.