Bioelastics Matrices for Urological Protheses

The increasing numbers of patients in need, the limitations of external appliances, thecomplications resulting from autologous tissue use argue the case for new means and materials forreconstruction of the urinary bladder, ureters, renal pelvis and urethra. Promising in these regards arebioelastic materials (elastic protein-based polymers) with compositions (1) that exhibit extraordinarybiocompatibility, (2) that can have the correct compliance, (3) that are dopable for controlled release oftherapeutics, (4) that can contain cell attachment sequences which promote cell adhesion, spreading andgrowth to confluence, (5) that could perform as temporary functional scaffolding which could beremodeled by attached urothelial cells to result in a normal functional tissue, and (6) that could beprogrammed to degrade as the functioning urothelial cells remodel the prosthesis into a natural tissue.Six compositions of bioelastic materials will be prepared by peptide synthesis with inclusion of urotherlialcell attachment sequences, fabricated into elastic matrices of the correct compliance, examined forurothelial cell attachment, spreading and growth to confluence, characterized for attached urotherlial cellresponse to tensional force changes that mimic bladder filler and micturition. These studies will test theattractive cell biology and tissue engineering hypothesis that, when subjected to the natural mechanicaldemands on a tissue, the native cells will elaborate extracellular matirx required for meeting thosedemands.