Tissue reaction to autologous elastic fibers implanted in the urinary bladder of dogs

Abstract Degenerating elastic fibers are commonly listed as a cause of granulomatous tissue reaction with giant cell formation, such as in the case of temporal (giant cell) arteritis, or in some cases of chronic pulmonary diseases such as tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hemosiderosis, emphysema, etc. The purpose of this study was to determine if implants of autologous elastic fibers in the urinary bladder of dogs invoke granulomatous tissue reaction with giant cell production. Nine dogs were utilized. The elastic tissue was obtained from the abdominal aorta and implanted in the urinary bladder. The animals were killed at intervals of 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks and 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 months. At no time during the experiment was there any granulomatous tissue reaction or giant cell formation. It is concluded that, under the conditions of the experiment, autologous aortic elastic fibers implanted in the urinary bladder of dogs do not induce the formation of giant cells or granulomatous tissue reaction.