{"title":"Application of decellularized tilapia skin in rabbit urethral reconstruction: an experimental study.","authors":"Wei Huang, Hongying Zheng, Jiaming Wu, Lingfei Wang, Huaqiong Li, Feng Wen, Congde Chen","doi":"10.21037/tau-24-598","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In urethral reconstruction, autologous tissue grafts are subject to various limitations. Decellularized tissue has attracted significant interest in tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine due to great biocompatibility and bioactivity. We investigated the effect of decellularized tilapia skin (DTS) in a rabbit urethral defect model to explore its feasibility and effectiveness as a TE construction for urethral reconstruction.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fresh tilapia skins were decellularized and verified through its residual deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content measurement. The physical properties and degradation profile of DTS were characterized as well. Finally, we established a rabbit urethral defect model and evaluated the effect of DTS on urethral defect healing through pathological examination and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The residual DNA content in the DTS was 32.94 ng/mg. Electron microscopy showed that the DTS retained its three-dimensional structure. <i>In vitro</i>, degradation experiments showed that DTS degraded at a faster rate than that of small intestinal submucosa (SIS). After implantation of the DTS, the penile tissue was well repaired. In the early stage of tissue repair, the tissue was gradually replaced by new collagen. In addition, smooth muscle content was significantly increased. No significant immune rejection was observed in the tissues during the repair process and the inflammatory response was significantly milder than other group. Nevertheless, angiogenesis markers, the numbers of blood vessels and blood vessel area in DTS intervention groups were the highest at 4 weeks post-implantation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>DTS could degrade gradually during urethral reconstruction and demonstrated its better biocompatibility in terms of <i>de novo</i> tissue morphology, microanatomy of tissues, severity of inflammation, collagen deposition and angiogenesis in defect region <i>vs.</i> its match control groups. As an excellent TE material, it is expected to be used in clinical urethral reconstruction in future.</p>","PeriodicalId":23270,"journal":{"name":"Translational andrology and urology","volume":"14 2","pages":"266-279"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11921214/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Translational andrology and urology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.21037/tau-24-598","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/2/25 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ANDROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: In urethral reconstruction, autologous tissue grafts are subject to various limitations. Decellularized tissue has attracted significant interest in tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine due to great biocompatibility and bioactivity. We investigated the effect of decellularized tilapia skin (DTS) in a rabbit urethral defect model to explore its feasibility and effectiveness as a TE construction for urethral reconstruction.
Methods: Fresh tilapia skins were decellularized and verified through its residual deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content measurement. The physical properties and degradation profile of DTS were characterized as well. Finally, we established a rabbit urethral defect model and evaluated the effect of DTS on urethral defect healing through pathological examination and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining.
Results: The residual DNA content in the DTS was 32.94 ng/mg. Electron microscopy showed that the DTS retained its three-dimensional structure. In vitro, degradation experiments showed that DTS degraded at a faster rate than that of small intestinal submucosa (SIS). After implantation of the DTS, the penile tissue was well repaired. In the early stage of tissue repair, the tissue was gradually replaced by new collagen. In addition, smooth muscle content was significantly increased. No significant immune rejection was observed in the tissues during the repair process and the inflammatory response was significantly milder than other group. Nevertheless, angiogenesis markers, the numbers of blood vessels and blood vessel area in DTS intervention groups were the highest at 4 weeks post-implantation.
Conclusions: DTS could degrade gradually during urethral reconstruction and demonstrated its better biocompatibility in terms of de novo tissue morphology, microanatomy of tissues, severity of inflammation, collagen deposition and angiogenesis in defect region vs. its match control groups. As an excellent TE material, it is expected to be used in clinical urethral reconstruction in future.
期刊介绍：
ranslational Andrology and Urology (Print ISSN 2223-4683; Online ISSN 2223-4691; Transl Androl Urol; TAU) is an open access, peer-reviewed, bi-monthly journal (quarterly published from Mar.2012 - Dec. 2014). The main focus of the journal is to describe new findings in the field of translational research of Andrology and Urology, provides current and practical information on basic research and clinical investigations of Andrology and Urology. Specific areas of interest include, but not limited to, molecular study, pathology, biology and technical advances related to andrology and urology. Topics cover range from evaluation, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, prognosis, rehabilitation and future challenges to urology and andrology. Contributions pertinent to urology and andrology are also included from related fields such as public health, basic sciences, education, sociology, and nursing.
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