title: Urethral reconstruction with a 3D porous bacterial cellulose scaffold seeded with lingual keratinocytes in a rabbit model.
abstract: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of urethral reconstruction with a three-dimensional (3D) porous bacterial cellulose (BC) scaffold seeded with lingual keratinocytes in a rabbit model. A novel 3D porous BC scaffold was prepared by gelatin sponge interfering in the BC fermentation process. Rabbit lingual keratinocytes were isolated, expanded, and seeded onto 3D porous BC. BC alone (group 1, N  =  10), 3D porous BC alone (group 2, N  =  10), and 3D porous BC seeded with lingual keratinocytes (group 3, N  =  10) were used to repair rabbit ventral urethral defects (2.0   ×   0.8 cm). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that BC consisted of a compact laminate while 3D porous BC was composed of a porous sheet buttressed by a dense outer layer. The average pore diameter and porosity of the 3D porous BC were 4.23   ±   1.14 μm and 67.00   ±   6.80%, respectively. At 3 months postoperatively, macroscopic examinations and retrograde urethrograms of urethras revealed that all urethras maintained wide calibers in group 3. Strictures were found in all rabbits in groups 1 and 2. Histologically, at 1 month postoperatively, intact epithelium occurred in group 3, and discontinued epithelium was found in groups 1 and 2. However, groups 2 and 3 exhibited similar epithelial regeneration, which was superior to that of group 1 at 3 months (p  <  0.05). Comparisons of smooth muscle content and endothelia density among the three groups revealed a significant increase at each time point (p  <  0.05). Our results demonstrated that 3D porous BC seeded with lingual keratinocytes enhanced urethral tissue regeneration. 3D porous BC could potentially be used as an optimized scaffold for urethral reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jian-Wen
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xiang-Guo
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lu-Jie
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Min-Kai
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hong-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ji-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Shi-Yan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hua-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yue-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D041822:Gluconacetobacter xylinus / Q000737:chemistry; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D008297:Male; D016062:Porosity; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011817:Rabbits; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014059:Tongue / Q000166:cytology; D014525:Urethral Stricture / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D002482:Cellulose