Urine-Derived Stem Cells for Epithelial Tissues Reconstruction and Wound Healing.

Epithelial tissue injury can occur on any surface site of the body, particularly in the skin or urethral mucosa tissue, due to trauma, infection, inflammation, and toxic compounds. Both internal and external body epithelial tissue injuries can significantly affect patients’ quality of life, increase healthcare spending, and increase the global economic burden. Transplantation of epithelial tissue grafts is an effective treatment strategy in clinical settings. Autologous bio-engineered epithelia are common clinical skin substitutes that have the specific advantages of avoiding tissue rejection, obviating ethical concerns, reducing the risk of infection, and decreasing scarring compared to donor grafts. However, epithelial cells are often obtained from the individual’s skin and mucosa through invasive methods, which cause further injury or damage. Urine-derived stem cells (USC) of kidney origin, obtained via non-invasive acquisition, possess high stemness properties, self-renewal ability, trophic effects, multipotent differentiation potential, and immunomodulatory ability. These cells show versatile potential for tissue regeneration, with extensive evidence supporting their use in the repair of epidermal and urothelial injuries. We discuss the collection, isolation, culture, characterization, and differentiation of USC. We also discuss the use of USC for cellular therapies as well as the administration of USC-derived paracrine factors for epidermal and urothelial tissue repair. Specifically, we will discuss 3D constructions involving multiple types of USC-loaded hydrogels and USC-seeded scaffolds for use in cosmetic production testing, drug development, and disease modeling. In conclusion, urine-derived stem cells are a readily accessible autologous stem cell source well-suited for developing personalized medical treatments in epithelial tissue regeneration and drug testing.

上皮组织损伤可发生在身体的任何表面部位，尤其是皮肤或尿道黏膜组织，原因包括创伤、感染、炎症以及有毒化合物。身体内外的上皮组织损伤都会显著影响患者的生活质量，增加医疗支出，并加重全球经济负担。上皮组织移植物移植是临床环境中的一种有效治疗策略。自体生物工程上皮是常见的临床皮肤替代物，与供体移植物相比，具有避免组织排斥、消除伦理担忧、降低感染风险以及减少瘢痕形成的特定优势。然而，上皮细胞通常是通过侵入性方法从个体的皮肤和黏膜获取的，这会造成进一步的损伤。源自肾脏的尿源性干细胞（USC）通过非侵入性获取，具有高干性、自我更新能力、营养作用、多向分化潜能和免疫调节能力。这些细胞在组织再生方面显示出多种潜力，有大量证据支持其用于表皮和尿路上皮损伤的修复。我们讨论了尿源性干细胞的采集、分离、培养、特性鉴定和分化。我们还讨论了尿源性干细胞用于细胞疗法以及应用尿源性干细胞衍生的旁分泌因子进行表皮和尿路上皮组织修复的情况。具体而言，我们将讨论涉及多种载有尿源性干细胞的水凝胶和接种尿源性干细胞的支架的三维构建，用于化妆品生产测试、药物研发和疾病建模。总之，尿源性干细胞是一种易于获取的自体干细胞来源，非常适合用于上皮组织再生和药物测试中的个性化医疗治疗的开发。