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Tissue Engineered Tubularized Urethra for Surgical Reconstruction: A Pre‐Clinical Study
Author(s) -
Orabi Hazem Osman,
Aboushwareb Tamer,
Yoo James J.,
Atala Anthony
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.581.6
Subject(s) - urethra , tissue engineering , medicine , urethral stricture , scaffold , surgery , biomedical engineering
Various urethral conditions often require extensive surgery. The treatment options for patients requiring repair of a large segment of tubularized urethra are limited by the availability of autologous tissues. In this study we explored the feasibility of engineering clinically relevant long urethras for surgical reconstruction in a canine pre‐clinical model. Materials and Methods Autologous bladder epithelial and smooth muscle cells were grown and seeded onto collagen based tubular matrices (6 cm in length). The urethral segment of approximately 6 cm in length was removed in 18 male dogs and replaced with the cell seeded collagen scaffolds in 12 animals, and without cells in 6 animals. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 3, 6 and 9 months for analyses. Results and Discussion The CT scan showed wide caliber urethras in the animals implanted with the cell seeded matrices. The urethral segments replaced without cells had tissue breakdown and scaffold collapse. The urethral implants seeded with cells showed normally appearing tissue without evidence of fibrosis grossly. Histologically, formation of an organized urethral tissue structure was evident in the cell seeded constructs. Conclusions These findings show that long segments of cell seeded tubularized scaffolds can be used to repair large urethral defects. This study demonstrates that tissue engineered tubularized long urethras may be used for surgical reconstruction in patients requiring urethral tissue repair. Please acknowledge NIDDK P01 DK65298‐01