Intra-bladder wall transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells improved urinary bladder dysfunction following spinal cord injury.

BACKGROUND

In the most of previous experiments, intrathecal administration of stem cells (SCs) was seen in the management of neurogenic bladder (NGB) following contusion or complete transaction in the rodent model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we aimed to investigate whether intra bladder wall autologous bone marrow mesenchymal SC (BM-MSCs) transplantation, as a minimally invasive method, could improve bladder dysfunctions after a chronic phase of hemi- and complete-transection SCI in a female rat model.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of forty-two female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (each in 7) and subjected to complete and incomplete spinal cord transection by a laminectomy at the T9 vertebral level. Four weeks after SCI operation, BM-MSCs (1 × 10/120 μl) were transplanted in six areas of the bladder muscle in rats with complete SCI (cSCI) and hemi SCI (hSCI) groups. In the rats from sham, cSCI and hSCI negative control groups, normal saline was injected instead of BM-MSCs. Four weeks post-cell transplantation, rats were subjected to conscious urodynamic for voiding function assessment.

RESULTS

All bladders in cSCI and hSCI groups were the hyperreflexic type. The amplitude of uninhibited contraction in cSCI + BM-MSC group was decreased (p = 0.046). we noted that compliance was recovered in the hSCI + BM-MSCs group (p = 0.041). Residual volume was increased significantly after SCI while cell transplantation decreased this index in both hSCI and cSCI +BM-MSCs groups. The statistically significant result was only seen in the hSCI group (p = 0.046). Data showed that collagen deposition was markedly increased in the SCI group compared to the control or sham groups. These changes were decreased post-treatment in the hSCI group (p = 0.042).

CONCLUSION

Our study added a notion that urinary dysfunction associated with SCI, was improved following direct injection of autologous BM-MSC transplantation to bladder wall in the chronic phase of SCI injury.