Biocompatibility of urethral extracellular matrix with endothelial progenitor cells of dogs

Objective To evaluate the biocompatibility of urethral extracellular matrix (UECM) with endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) of dogs,and discuss the feasibility of the urethra of tissue engineering.Methods EPCs of dogs were isolated and cultured.The biocompatibility of the EPCs and UECM was detectedin vitro.The EPCs at a density 1.0 × 106/cm2 cocombined with the UECM was cultured and seeded in vitro,of which the adhesion and proliferation were observed.The cytotoxicity of extracts from UECM ( 100％,50％,25％,12.5％ ) was detected by methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay,and the histocompatibility was evaluated by implanting the mixture of UECM with EPCs into the back of eight dogs.Results EPCs were isolated and cultured successfully.The cell markers included VEGFR2 (82.0 ±6.5)％,CD34 (30.1 ±4.7)％,CD]33 (15.9 ±5.2)％.The UECM was prepared.The co-culture of UECM with EPCs indicated that UECM had a good cytocompatibility.The dogs in the implantation test had no abnormal response.The UECM was degraded gradually in vitro,and neovasculature could be seen in the materials after eight weeks.Conclusion EPCs could serve as seeded cells,and the UECM could serve as scaffold to construct the urethra of tissue engineering.\r\n\r\nKey words: \r\nUrethral extracellular matrix;  Endothelial progenitor cells;  Biocompatibility; Tissue engineering