【Abstract】 Objective To review the progress and cl inical appl ication of cellular therapy for stress urinaryincontinence (SUI). Methods The l iterature about cellular therapy of SUI was extensively reviewed. Results Becauseof having no or poor regeneration capacity, the cl inical application of chondrocytes and myoblasts were l imited. Based on the rapid progress in stem cell biology, an increasing number of animal experiments and cl inical trials about cellular therapy of SUI have been reported with encouraging results. All these show that cellular therapy has great potential in cl inical application. Stem cells are considered as ideal seeded-cells for treatment of SUI. Conclusion Cellular therapy, especially stem cells, provides a novel approach for treatment of SUI, but the mechanism needs further study.
Objective
To observe whether umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) can differentiate into the smooth muscle cells (SMCs) induced by bladder SMCs (BSMCs) conditioned medium so as to seek an alternative seed cells for the repair and reconstruction of the urology system.
Methods
UCMSCs and BSMCs were harvested from umbilical cord of full-term births and bladder tissues which were obtained from patients who underwent a radical cystectomy. BSMCs conditioned medium was prepared by mixing supernatant of BSMCs at passages 1-5 with complete medium at ratio of 1
∶
1. UCMSCs at passage 3 were cultured with BSMCs conditioned medium (induced group, group A) and complete medium (control group, group B), respectively; simple BSMCs served as positive control group (group C). The morphological changes of co-cultured UCMSCs were observed by inverted phase microscope, the expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), Calponin, and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC) of UCMSCs were tested by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot at 7 and 14 days.
Results
The morphology of UCMSCs in group A started to change from a polygonal and short spindle shape to a large and spindle shape after co-culture, which was similar to BSMCs morphology; but the morphology of UCMSCs did not change obviously in group B. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the expressions of α-SMA, Calponin, and SM-MHC were positive in group C. At 7 days, the expression of α-SMA could be observed in groups A and B; at 14 days, the positive expression of α-SMA increased gradually in group A, but it did not increase in group B. At 7 days, a positive expression of Calponin could be observed in group A, and positive expression increased obviously at 14 days; the expression of Calponin could not be observed at 7 and 14 days in group B. However, the expression of SM-MHC could not be observed in groups A and B. The results of Western blot showed the expressions of α-SMA, Calponin, and SM-MHC protein were consistent with the results of immunofluorescence staining.
Conclusion
UCMSCs have the potential of differentiation into SMCs and may be a potential seed cells for bladder tissue engineering.
Microsurgical varicocelectomy (MVC) is the current gold standard for the treatment of varicocele. Studies have shown that MVC can bring certain clinical benefits to patients with varicocele and male infertility. In today’s era of assisted reproduction, MVC is clinical used usually to improve ART outcomes before treatment with assisted reproductive technology (ART). This article summarizes the efficacy evaluation and cost-effectiveness of MVC combined with ART. Although there is a lack of prospective evidence supporting MVC before ART, many large retrospective studies have shown that operating MVC before using ART may improve ART outcomes. However, large-scale and standardized clinical trials are still needed to further verify the effectiveness and feasibility of MVC before ART.
Varicocele (VC) is one of the common diseases of the male genitourinary system, and its incidence is higher in young adults. Among them, 80%-98% of VC are more likely to occur in the left spermatic vein. Previous research has found that VC could affect the temperature of the local microenvironment of the testis, oxidative stress process in the spermatogenic environment, mitochondrial function of sperm, endocrine system, and apoptosis of testes and epididymal cells. Therefore, VC will have an important impact on spermatogenic process of the testicles to cause male infertility. However, the specific molecular mechanism of VC affecting male spermatogenesis has not been fully studied. Therefore, this article will review the effect and mechanism of VC on testicular spermatogenesis.
