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Tracking intracavernously injected adipose-derived stem cells to bone marrow

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 23, pages 268–275 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The intracavernous (i.c.) injection of stem cells (SCs) has been shown to improve erectile function in various erectile dysfunction (ED) animal models. However, the tissue distribution of the injected cells remains unknown. In this study we tracked i.c.-injected adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) in various tissues. Rat paratesticular fat was processed for ADSC isolation and culture. The animals were then subject to cavernous nerve (CN) crush injury or sham operation, followed by i.c. injection of 1 million autologous or allogeneic ADSCs that were labeled with 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU). Another group of rats received i.c. injection of EdU-labeled allogeneic penile smooth muscle cells (PSMCs). At 2 and 7 days post injection, penises and femoral bone marrow were processed for histological analyses. Whole femoral bone marrows were also analyzed for EdU-positive cells by flow cytometry. The results show that ADSCs exited the penis within days of i.c. injection and migrated preferentially to bone marrow. Allogenicity did not affect the bone marrow appearance of ADSCs at either 2 or 7 days, whereas CN injury reduced the number of ADSCs in bone marrow significantly at 7 but not 2 days. The significance of these results in relation to SC therapy for ED is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Arthur Rock Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (DK045370).

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  1. G Lin and X Qiu: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Knuppe Molecular Urology Laboratory, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    G Lin, X Qiu, T Fandel, L Banie, G Wang, T F Lue & C-S Lin

  2. Department of Urology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, School of Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    X Qiu

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  1. G Lin
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Correspondence to C-S Lin.

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Lin, G., Qiu, X., Fandel, T. et al. Tracking intracavernously injected adipose-derived stem cells to bone marrow. Int J Impot Res 23, 268–275 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2011.38

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