Bladder Regeneration Using Multiple Acellular Scaffolds with Growth Factors in a Bladder

Introduction: Tissue engineering may become an alternative to current bladder augmentation techniques. Large scaffolds are needed for clinically significant augmentation, but can result in fibrosis and graft shrinkage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of multiple scaffolds instead of one large scaffold, to enhance bladder tissue regeneration and bladder capacity. Second, acellular collagen, collagen–heparin, and collagen–heparin scaffolds with growth factors (GFs) were used and the biological activity of the different scaffolds was compared in a large animal model. Materials and Methods: Scaffolds were made of bovine type I collagen with or without heparin (O = 3.2 cm). Collagen–heparin scaffolds were loaded with GFs, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), and heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF). Three identical scaffolds prepared from collagen (COL-group), collagen with heparin (COLHEP-group), or collagen–heparin with growth factors ...