De novo reconstitution of a functional mammalian urinary bladder by tissue engineering

Nat Biotechnol. 1999 Feb;17(2):149-55. doi: 10.1038/6146.

Abstract

Human organ replacement is limited by a donor shortage, problems with tissue compatibility, and rejection. Creation of an organ with autologous tissue would be advantageous. In this study, transplantable urinary bladder neo-organs were reproducibly created in vitro from urothelial and smooth muscle cells grown in culture from canine native bladder biopsies and seeded onto preformed bladder-shaped polymers. The native bladders were subsequently excised from canine donors and replaced with the tissue-engineered neo-organs. In functional evaluations for up to 11 months, the bladder neo-organs demonstrated a normal capacity to retain urine, normal elastic properties, and histologic architecture. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that successful reconstitution of an autonomous hollow organ is possible using tissue-engineering methods.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dogs
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Muscle, Smooth / cytology
  • Muscle, Smooth / metabolism
  • Muscle, Smooth / transplantation
  • Radiography
  • Urinary Bladder / diagnostic imaging
  • Urinary Bladder / physiology
  • Urinary Bladder / transplantation*
  • Urinary Reservoirs, Continent*
  • Urothelium / cytology
  • Urothelium / metabolism
  • Urothelium / transplantation