Urine is a highly cytotoxic agent: does it influence stem cell therapies in urology?

The state of art of stem cell therapies in urologic regenerative medicine is still under development. There are still many issues before advances in tissue engineering can be introduced for clinical application. The essential question is whether stem cells should be seeded on the urinary tract lumen side. The present experiment, using Real-Time Cell Analyzer (RTCA) DP (Dual Plate) of the xCellligence system (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany), allowed us to monitor cellular events in real time. In this study we examined the influence of urine on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Cells were exposed to medium mixed with urine (1:1), medium mix with PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline) (1:1), only urine, and whole medium without cells as background. The cell number was significantly lower in all groups exposed on medium mixed with urine and urine alone. The results showed that urine is a highly cytotoxic agent whose role in urologic regenerative medicine is underestimated.