ArticleFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology2025
Isolation and characterization of epithelial cells and fibroblasts from the human penile urethra.
Article in Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- From Bench to Operating Room: A Comparative Study of Tensile and Puncture Tests in Self-Assembled Constructs with Clinical Feedback.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- IGF-1 Increases Collagen Deposition by Dermal Fibroblasts: Applications for Tissue Engineering.Cells · 2026Article
- I-TEP: A Simple and Affordable Method to Measure Permeability in Reconstructed Tissues Combined with DAMO-TSC-Based Urea Assay.Methods and protocols · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Urethral strictures and hypospadias are common urological conditions for which autologous reconstruction remains challenging. Tissue engineering offers a promising alternative, yet current strategies often rely on heterotopic cell sources, potentially limiting functional integration. Here, we report the first isolation and characterization of epithelial and stromal cells from distinct regions of the human penile urethra: the spongy urethra and the proximal and distal fossa navicularis. Methods: Cells were isolated from the three regions of the penile urethra in 12 donors. Detailed characterization was performed for 3-4 donors, assessing yield, growth parameters, immunophenotype, and progenitor preservation. We evaluated 3-, 4-, and 6-mm biopsies to determine the minimal tissue size required for clinically relevant cell yields. Multiple enzymatic protocols were compared, using thermolysin or dispase II for epithelial-stromal separation, followed by collagenase ± elastase digestion for stromal cell recovery. Results: Cell extraction had a 100% success rate across all tested protocols. The combination of dispase and a 4-h collagenase/elastase digestion yielded the highest cell numbers and clonogenic potential. All biopsy sizes produced sufficient cells for tissue engineering. Discussion: These findings demonstrate the feasibility of harvesting high-quality, organ-specific autologous cells from minimal urethral biopsies. In addition to their clinical potential, these cells provide a foundation for preclinical disease modelling using patient-derived pathological cells, which are currently unavailable for in vitro studies of urethral disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.