title: Seeding cell approach for tissue-engineered urethral reconstruction in animal study: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: We systematically reviewed published preclinical studies to evaluate the effectiveness of cell-seeded tissue engineering approach for urethral reconstruction in an animal model. The outcomes were summarized by success factors in the animal experiments, which evaluate the possibility and feasibility of a clinical application in the future. Preclinical studies of tissue engineering approaches for urethral reconstruction were identified through a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, and Biosis Previews (web of science SP) databases for studies published from 1 January 1980 to 23 November 2014. Primary studies were included if urethral reconstruction was performed using a tissue-engineered biomaterial in any animal species (with the experiment group being a cell-seeded scaffold and the control group being a cell-free scaffold) with histology and urethrography as the outcome measure. A total of 15 preclinical studies were included in our meta-analysis. The histology and urethrography outcome between the experimental and control groups were considered to be the most clinically relevant. Through this systematic approach, our outcomes suggested that applying the cell-seeded biomaterial in creating a neo-urethra was stable and effective. And multi-type cells including epithelial cells as well as smooth muscle cells or fibroblasts seemed to be a better strategy. Stem cells, especially after epithelial differentiation, could be a promising choice for future researches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China drxiehong@163.com.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014521:Urethra / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Tissue engineering; animal model; cell-seeded/unseeded biomaterial; meta-analysis; urethral defect; urethral reconstruction