Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Pediatric Urology: Urethral and Urinary Bladder Reconstruction

Abstract

In the case of pediatric urology there are several congenital conditions, such as hypospadias and neurogenic bladder, which affect, respectively, the urethra and the urinary bladder. In fact, the gold standard consists of a urethroplasty procedure in the case of urethral malformations and enterocystoplasty in the case of urinary bladder disorders. However, both surgical procedures are associated with severe complications, such as fistulas, urethral strictures, and dehiscence of the repair or recurrence of chordee in the case of urethroplasty, and metabolic disturbances, stone formation, urine leakage, and chronic infections in the case of enterocystoplasty. With the aim of overcoming the issue related to the lack of sufficient and appropriate autologous tissue, increasing attention has been focused on tissue engineering. In this review, both the urethral and the urinary bladder reconstruction strategies were summarized, focusing on pediatric applications and evaluating all the biomaterials tested in both animal models and patients. Particular attention was paid to the capability for tissue regeneration in dependence on the eventual presence of seeded cell and growth factor combinations in several types of scaffolds. Moreover, the main critical features needed for urinary tissue engineering have been highlighted and specifically focused on for pediatric application.

Preliminary In Vitro Assessment of Decellularized Porcine Descending Aorta for Clinical Purposes

“…A possible solution can be achieved thanks to a tissue-engineering approach, which has been recently proposed for tissue and organ substitution [ 23 , 24 , 54 , 55 ]. For the aforementioned urological application, the main requirements have been extensively described [ 55 , 56 ]; in particular, they regard the need for a watertight scaffold, which must maintain the conduit’s patency, compliance, and elasticity. The need for a material able to prevent urine leakage must be weighed against the requirement to permit sufficient cell motility, adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.…”

Injectable, stretchable, toughened, bioadhesive composite hydrogel for bladder injury repair

“…high levels of toughness, tensile strength, viscoelasticity, and fatigue resistance), (2) good biocompatibility, (3) reliable adhesion and sealing properties, and (4) biodegradability. 8–10…”

“…high levels of toughness, tensile strength, viscoelasticity, and fatigue resistance), (2) good biocompatibility, (3) reliable adhesion and sealing properties, and (4) biodegradability. [8][9][10] Hydrogels can be classied into natural and synthetic polymeric hydrogels. Natural polymeric hydrogels have strong biocompatibility and biological properties.…”

Antimicrobial and Mechanical Properties of Ag@Ti3C2Tx-Modified PVA Composite Hydrogels Enhanced with Quaternary Ammonium Chitosan

“…Every year, countless people have their organs damaged due to trauma, war, accidents, etc. Tissue engineering technology provides new methods for organ trauma repair and functional reconstruction [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The preparation of an ideal material is also one of the focuses of researchers [ 4 , 5 ].…”