Seeding cell approach for tissue-engineered urethral reconstruction in animal study: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) Vol. 241; no. 13; pp. 1416 - 1428
• Main Authors: Xue, Jing-Dong, Gao, Jing, Fu, Qiang, Feng, Chao, Xie, Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.07.2016
• Subjects: Animals; Dogs; Female; Male; Original Research; Rabbits; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures; Regenerative Medicine - methods; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds; Urethra - pathology; Urethra - surgery; cell-seeded/unseeded biomaterial; meta-analysis; urethral defect; animal model; Tissue engineering; urethral reconstruction
• ISSN: 1535-3702; 1535-3699
• DOI: 10.1177/1535370216640148

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.