Stem cell-based therapy for erectile dysfunction

Objective To review the effect of stem cells in erectile dysfunction as well as their application to the therapy of erectile dysfunction. Data sources The data used in the present article were mainly from PubMed with relevant English articles published from 1974 to 2011. The search terms were ＂stem cells＂ and ＂erectile dysfunction＂. Study selection Articles regarding the role of stem cells in erectile dysfunction and their application to the therapy of erectile dysfunction were selected. Results Stem cells hold great promise for regenerative medicine because of their ability to self-renew and to differentiate into various cell types. Meanwhile, in preclinical experiments, therapeutic gene-modified stem cells have been approved to offer a novel strategy for cell therapy and gene therapy of erectile dysfunction. Conclusion The transplantation of stem cells has the potential to provide cell types capable of restoring normal function after injury or degradation inerectile dysfunction. However, a series of problems, such as the safety of stem cells transplantation, their application in cell therapy and gene therapy of erectile dysfunction need further investigation.

Transplantation of collagen scaffold with autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells promotes functional endometrium reconstruction via downregulating ΔNp63 expression in Asherman＇s syndrome

Asherman's syndrome(AS) is a common disease that presents endometrial regeneration disorder. However, little is known about its molecular features of this aregenerative endometrium in AS and how to reconstruct the functioning endometrium for the patients with AS. Here, we report that ΔNp63 is significantly upregulated in residual epithelial cells of the impaired endometrium in AS; the upregulated-ΔNp63 induces endometrial quiescence and alteration of stemness. Importantly, we demonstrate that engrafting high density of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells(BMNCs) loaded in collagen scaffold onto the uterine lining of patients with AS downregulates ΔNp63 expression, reverses ΔNp63-induced pathological changes, normalizes the stemness alterations and restores endometrial regeneration. Finally, five patients achieved successful pregnancies and live births. Therefore, we conclude that ΔNp63 is a crucial therapeutic target for AS. This novel treatment significantly improves the outcome for the patients with severe AS.