Current status of stem cell therapy in urology

Stem cells have the ability to propagate through self renewal and generate mature cells of multiple lineages through differentiation [1,2]. Explorations of the potential value of stem cell therapy in urology have included studies of bladder dysfunction, erectile dysfunction (ED), stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and prostate and bladder cancer. Only a few pilot human translational studies study of stress incontinence and diabetes induced ED have been reported. Recently, Alwaal et al. [3] introduced the current status of stem cell treatment in benign urological diseases including ED, Peyronie disease, infertility and SUI. The prowess of stem cell therapy has been indicated in bladder dysfunction models including bladder outlet obstruction, chronic ischemia, diabetes, cryo-injury, pelvic nerve injury, and spinal cord injury (SCI). Except for cryoinjury and pelvic nerve injury, models have demonstrated overactive urodynamics, indicative of improved intercontraction interval and maximal voiding pressure [1,2]. Underactivity models including cryo-injury and pelvic nerve injury models have demonstrated improvements of intravesical pressure. Marked smooth muscle differentiation has been reported in three studies. Concerning SCI-induced bladder dysfunction, a meta-analysis affirmed that stem cell-based cell therapyproduces partial bladder recovery including improvement of voiding pressure, inter-contraction interval, and residual urine [4]. For ED, stem cell injection into the corpus cavernosum or periprostatic implantation improves erectile functions in Current status of stem cell therapy in urology