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Article of the week: Discovery provides new means for regenerative bladder reconstruction

Every week the Editor-in-Chief selects the Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

Finally, the third post under the Article of the Week heading on the homepage will consist of additional material or media. This week we feature a video of Dr Verdi discussing his paper.

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Endometrial stem cell differentiation into smooth muscle cell: a novel approach for bladder tissue engineering in women

Alireza Shoae-Hassani*, Shiva Sharif, Alexander M. Seifalian, Seyed Abdolreza Mortazavi-Tabatabaei, Sassan Rezaie§ and Javad Verdi

Departments of Applied Cell Sciences and §Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, and *Department of Stem cell and Tissue Engineering, Research Center for Science and Technology in Medicine (RCSTiM), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, University College London, UCL Centre for Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, London, UK, and Proteomics Research Center, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

OBJECTIVE

• To investigate manufacturing smooth muscle cells (SMCs) for regenerative bladder reconstruction from differentiation of endometrial stem cells (EnSCs), as the recent discovery of EnSCs from the lining of women’s uteri, opens up the possibility of using these cells for tissue engineering applications, such as building up natural tissue to repair prolapsed pelvic floors as well as building urinary bladder wall.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

• Human EnSCs that were positive for cluster of differentiation 146 (CD146), CD105 and CD90 were isolated and cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle/F12 medium supplemented with myogenic growth factors.

• The myogenic factors included: transforming growth factor β, platelet-derived growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor.

• Differentiated SMCs on bioabsorbable polyethylene-glycol and collagen hydrogels were checked for SMC markers by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot (WB) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) analyses.

RESULTS

• Histology confirmed the growth of SMCs in the hydrogel matrices.

• The myogenic growth factors decreased the proliferation rate of EnSCs, but they differentiated the human EnSCs into SMCs more efficiently on hydrogel matrices and expressed specific SMC markers including α-smooth muscle actin, desmin, vinculin and calponin in RT-PCR, WB and ICC experiments.

• The survival rate of cultures on the hydrogel-coated matrices was significantly higher than uncoated cultures.

CONCLUSIONS

• Human EnSCs were successfully differentiated into SMCs, using hydrogels as scaffold.

• EnSCs may be used for autologous bladder wall regeneration without any immunological complications in women.

• Currently work is in progress using bioabsorbable nanocomposite materials as EnSC scaffolds for developing urinary bladder wall tissue.

 

Read Previous Articles of the Week

 

Editorial: Reach for the sky – tissue engineering in urology

The work of Verdi et al. [1] published in this issue, shows the continuing quest to find a cellular substrate suitable for producing a tissue engineered replacement for detrusor smooth muscle. This study has identified the regenerative ability of endometrium and with the use of myogenic culture media has sought to differentiate stem cells of endometrial origin to produce the desired smooth muscle cells. The ultimate objective is to produce a functional organ replacement that improves on the current methods of tissue replacement. The current standard for bladder replacement is bowel, both large and small, in various eponymous configurations. All cystoplasties have the potential for long-term consequences including metabolic derangement, UTI, stone formation and mucus secretion [2]. They also suffer the limitation that they will not contract, thus between 10% and 75% will need to self-catheterise. However, many patients do very well after reconstruction with bowel, thus it is important that any substrate designed to replace the current standard matches and improves on that which bowel can offer.

The complex interactions required to achieve a functional bladder replacement are discussed by many authors and include that with urothelium [3], nerve growth and angiogenesis. Despite considerable ingenuity only some of these concerns are solved by previous approaches that have, for example, seeded urothelium onto a vascularised, de-epithelialised flap [4]. The attempt to generate a true composite bladder using cultured urothelium and muscle generated from their native source has been through animal and some clinical exposure but thus far have not gained widespread acceptance and usage – suggesting continued limitations [5, 6].

The pluripotent stem cell approach is attractive, as tissue can be generated from a source distant from the organ needing regeneration, thus bypassing any inherent disease process. The creation of an environment that pushes cellular differentiation along the desired path is the premise by which this works.

The authors of the current work [1] have analysed the population of generated cells using immunohistochemistry, scanning electron microscopy, gene expression analysis and Western blotting. From this we can learn that the cells are reproducible, viable and appear to exhibit characteristics of the desired smooth muscle cell. That said, all of the current models lack the most desirable of goals – that of controlled, functional similarity to the native bladder. The authors of this paper make the inference that the presence of α-smooth muscle actin suggests that the cells will be contractile. The experiments presented here may imply that but do not confirm it.

The field of tissue engineering remains exciting and authors such as these and others are to be congratulated on continuing to seek innovative approaches to solve a complex problem. The goal is organ replacement and clinical application. Each step along the path to that achievement is valuable but researchers working in the field need to ensure that they remain true to that aim. Cellular markers are only one part of a picture and future work must link them with function in novel cell populations. Once linked with function the means by which function is then controlled becomes important. Before we can safely apply this technology to patients, we must be clear about the functional abilities and limitations of the tissue created, this should be by evidence and not implication. Whilst those undertaking the research convey an optimistic view, the ability to understand the long-term viability and cellular stability remain significant unknowns.

Dan Wood
Adolescent and Paediatric Urology, University College London Hospitals, London, UK

Read the full article

References

  1. Verdi J, Shoae-Hassani A, Sharif S, Seifalian AM, Mortazavi-Tabatabaei SA, Rezaie S. Endometrial stem cell differentiation into smooth muscle cell: a novel approach for bladder tissue engineering in women. BJU Int 2013; 112: 854–863
  2. Biers SM, Venn SN, Greenwell TJ. The past, present and future of augmentation cystoplasty. BJU Int 2012; 109: 1280–1293
  3. Cross WR, Eardley I, Leese HJ, Southgate J. A biomimetic tissue from cultured normal human urothelial cells: analysis of physiological function. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 2005; 289: F459–468
  4. Fraser M, Thomas DF, Pitt E, Harnden P, Trejdosiewicz LK, Southgate J. A surgical model of composite cystoplasty with cultured urothelial cells: a controlled study of gross outcome and urothelial phenotype. BJU Int 2004; 93: 609–616
  5. Oberpenning F, Meng J, Yoo JJ, Atala A. De novo reconstitution of a functional mammalian urinary bladder by tissue engineering. Nat Biotechnol 1999; 17: 149–155
  6. Atala A, Bauer SB, Soker S, Yoo JJ, Retik AB. Tissue-engineered autologous bladders for patients needing cystoplasty. Lancet 2006; 367: 1241–1246

Video: Endometrial stem cells: new hope for pelvic floor prolapsed?

Endometrial stem cell differentiation into smooth muscle cell: a novel approach for bladder tissue engineering in women

Alireza Shoae-Hassani*, Shiva Sharif, Alexander M. Seifalian, Seyed Abdolreza Mortazavi-Tabatabaei, Sassan Rezaie§ and Javad Verdi

Departments of Applied Cell Sciences and §Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, and *Department of Stem cell and Tissue Engineering, Research Center for Science and Technology in Medicine (RCSTiM), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, University College London, UCL Centre for Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, London, UK, and Proteomics Research Center, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

OBJECTIVE

• To investigate manufacturing smooth muscle cells (SMCs) for regenerative bladder reconstruction from differentiation of endometrial stem cells (EnSCs), as the recent discovery of EnSCs from the lining of women’s uteri, opens up the possibility of using these cells for tissue engineering applications, such as building up natural tissue to repair prolapsed pelvic floors as well as building urinary bladder wall.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

• Human EnSCs that were positive for cluster of differentiation 146 (CD146), CD105 and CD90 were isolated and cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle/F12 medium supplemented with myogenic growth factors.

• The myogenic factors included: transforming growth factor β, platelet-derived growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor.

• Differentiated SMCs on bioabsorbable polyethylene-glycol and collagen hydrogels were checked for SMC markers by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot (WB) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) analyses.

RESULTS

• Histology confirmed the growth of SMCs in the hydrogel matrices.

• The myogenic growth factors decreased the proliferation rate of EnSCs, but they differentiated the human EnSCs into SMCs more efficiently on hydrogel matrices and expressed specific SMC markers including α-smooth muscle actin, desmin, vinculin and calponin in RT-PCR, WB and ICC experiments.

• The survival rate of cultures on the hydrogel-coated matrices was significantly higher than uncoated cultures.

CONCLUSIONS

• Human EnSCs were successfully differentiated into SMCs, using hydrogels as scaffold.

• EnSCs may be used for autologous bladder wall regeneration without any immunological complications in women.

• Currently work is in progress using bioabsorbable nanocomposite materials as EnSC scaffolds for developing urinary bladder wall tissue.

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