Volume 26, Issue 3 (May 2024) 26, 260–267; 10.4103/aja202374
Artificial cavernosa-like tissue based on multibubble Matrigel and a human corpus cavernous fibroblast scaffold
Yu-Zhuo Chen1,2,*, Yi-Hong Zhou3,*, Min-Bo Yan3, Ming Xiao2,3, Biao Liu2,3, Ying-Hao Yin2,3, Xiao-Li Tan2,3, Yong-Quan Huang1, Yu-Hong Lin1, Ting Xie1, Jia-Li Tian1, Qi Wang1, Jian-Ying Li4, Zi-Zhou Meng4, Zheng Li4, Emily Xing5, Yu-Xin Tang3, Ya-Wei Li3, Zhong-Zhen Su1, Liang-Yu Zhao2,3
1Department of Ultrasound, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China; 2Department of Interventional Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China; 3Department of Urology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China; 4Department of Andrology, the Center for Men’s Health, Urologic Medical Center, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; 5Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA.
Correspondence: Zhong-Zhen Su or Liang-Yu Zhao
Received: 25 August 2023; Accepted: 29 November 2023; published online: 06 February 2024
Abstract |
Ex vivo tissue culture of the human corpus cavernosum (CC) can be used to explore the tissue structural changes and complex signaling networks. At present, artificial CC-like tissues based on acellular or three-dimensional (3D)-printed scaffolds are used to solve the scarcity of primary penis tissue samples. However, inconvenience and high costs limit the wide application of such methods. Here, we describe a simple, fast, and economical method of constructing artificial CC-like tissue. Human CC fibroblasts (FBs), endothelial cells (ECs), and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were expanded in vitro and mixed with Matrigel in specific proportions. A large number of bubbles were formed in the mixture by vortexing combined with pipette blowing, creating a porous, spongy, and spatial structure. The CC FBs produced a variety of signaling factors, showed multidirectional differentiation potential, and grew in a 3D grid in Matrigel, which is necessary for CC-like tissue to maintain a porous structure as a cell scaffold. Within the CC-like tissue, ECs covered the surface of the lumen, and SMCs were located inside the trabeculae, similar to the structure of the primary CC. Various cell components remained stable for 3 days in vitro, but the EC content decreased on the 7th day. Wingless/integrated (WNT) signaling activation led to lumen atrophy and increased tissue fibrosis in CC-like tissue, inducing the same changes in characteristics as in the primary CC. This study describes a preparation method for human artificial CC-like tissue that may provide an improved experimental platform for exploring the function and structure of the CC and conducting drug screening for erectile dysfunction therapy.
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