Fiber density of collagen grafts impacts rabbit urethral regeneration.

Larsson HM; Vythilingam G; Pinnagoda K; Vardar E; Engelhardt EM; Sothilingam S; Thambidorai RC; Kamarul T; Hubbell JA; Frey P

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27621-9

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Journal article

Fiber density of collagen grafts impacts rabbit urethral regeneration.

Larsson HM Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vythilingam G Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pinnagoda K Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vardar E Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Engelhardt EM Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Sothilingam S Department of Surgery, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Thambidorai RC Department of Surgery, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Kamarul T Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, (NOCERAL) University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Hubbell JA Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Frey P Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. peter.frey@epfl.ch.

2018-07-04

Published in:

Scientific reports. - 2018

Reconstructive Surgical Procedures

English There is a need for efficient and "off-the-shelf" grafts in urethral reconstructive surgery. Currently available surgical techniques require harvesting of grafts from autologous sites, with increased risk of surgical complications and added patient discomfort. Therefore, a cost-effective and cell-free graft with adequate regenerative potential has a great chance to be translated into clinical practice. Tubular cell-free collagen grafts were prepared by varying the collagen density and fiber distribution, thereby creating a polarized low fiber density collagen graft (LD-graft). A uniform, high fiber density collagen graft (HD-graft) was engineered as a control. These two grafts were implanted to bridge a 2 cm long iatrogenic urethral defect in a rabbit model. Histology revealed that rabbits implanted with the LD-graft had a better smooth muscle regeneration compared to the HD-graft. The overall functional outcome assessed by contrast voiding cystourethrography showed patency of the urethra in 90% for the LD-graft and in 66.6% for the HD-graft. Functional regeneration of the rabbit implanted with the LD-graft could further be demonstrated by successful mating, resulting in healthy offspring. In conclusion, cell-free low-density polarized collagen grafts show better urethral regeneration than high-density collagen grafts.

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