Amniotic fluid and bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells can be converted to smooth muscle cells in the cryo-injured rat bladder and prevent compensatory hypertrophy of surviving smooth muscle cells.
OBJECTIVE
Wound healing of the cryo-injured bladder can bring about organ remodeling because of incomplete reconstitution of depleted smooth muscle cells. Stem cell transplantation could be beneficial to improve smooth muscle cell regeneration and/or modulate the remodeling process. The repair of bladder injury using adult-type stem cells would be useful for adult urological patients but unsuited for neonatal patients, in whom major benefits are likely to derive from fetal-type stem cells.


METHODS
The smooth muscle cell differentiation potential of fetal-type vs adult-type stem cells was evaluated by injecting green fluorescent protein labeled mesenchymal stem cells from rat amniotic fluid or bone marrow, respectively, in cryo-injured rat bladder walls.


RESULTS
At 30 days after transplantation only a few fetal-type or adult-type mesenchymal stem cells gave rise to enteric or vascular smooth muscle cells, whereas most mesenchymal stem cells appeared incapable of specific differentiation. In vitro co-culture experiments of smooth muscle cells with fetal-type or adult-type mesenchymal stem cells selectively labeled with distinct fluorochromes showed the presence of hybrid cells, suggesting that some mesenchymal stem cells can undergo cell fusion. Surprisingly the major effect of rat bone marrow or amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cell transplantation seemed to be preventing cryo-injury induced hypertrophy of surviving smooth muscle cells.


CONCLUSIONS
In this model stem cell transplantation has a limited effect on smooth muscle cell regeneration. Instead it can regulate post-injury bladder remodeling, possibly via a paracrine mechanism.
De Coppi
Paolo
P
Department of Pediatrics (Pediatric Oncoheamatology), University of Padua, Padua, Italy. paolo.decoppi@unipd.it
Callegari
Andrea
A
Chiavegato
Angela
A
Gasparotto
Lisa
L
Piccoli
Martina
M
Taiani
Jenny
J
Pozzobon
Michela
M
Boldrin
Luisa
L
Okabe
Masaru
M
Cozzi
Emanuele
E
Atala
Anthony
A
Gamba
Piergiorgio
P
Sartore
Saverio
S
D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000166:cytology*; D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000517:prevention & control; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D011923:Rats, Nude; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000166:cytology*