title: Tissue-engineered buccal mucosa using silk fibroin matrices for urethral reconstruction in a canine model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate the feasibility of urethral reconstruction using tissue-engineered buccal mucosa (TEBM) with silk fibroin (SF) matrices in a canine model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Autologous oral keratinocytes and autologous fibroblasts were isolated, expanded, and seeded onto SF matrices to obtain TEBM. The TEBM was assessed using hematoxylin and eosin staining and scanning electron microscopy. A 5-cm urethral mucosal defect was created in 10 female canines. Urethroplasty was performed using TEBM in five canines in the experimental group and with SF matrices without cells in the five canines in the comparison group. Retrograde urethrography was performed after 6 mo of grafting. The urethral grafts were analyzed grossly and histologically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The oral keratinocytes and fibroblasts exhibited good biocompatibility with the SF matrices. TEBM could be constructed using SF matrices. The canines implanted with the tissue-engineered mucosa voided without difficulty. The retrograde urethrography revealed no sign of stricture. The histologic staining showed that epithelial cells developed gradually and exhibited stratified epithelial layers at 6 mo. In the comparison group, the canines had difficulty voiding, and the retrograde urethrography showed urethra stricture. The histologic staining showed that one to two layers of epithelial cells developed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TEBM using SF matrices could be a potential material for urethra reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Minkai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: yueminxu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yuemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lujie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jihong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiangguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: zyp@dhu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yaopeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000637:transplantation; D005349:Fibroins; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000637:transplantation; D009061:Mouth Mucosa; D011897:Random Allocation; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014521:Urethra / Q000601:surgery*; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures
chemical_list: D005349:Fibroins
keywords: Bioengineering; Biomaterials; Buccal mucosa; Canine; Fibroblasts; Keratinocytes; Silk fibroin; Tissue engineering; Urethral reconstruction; Urethroplasty