▲ (from the left) Professor Dong-Myung Shin, Professor Seong Who, and Professor Juhyun Park

Underactive bladder (UAB), commonly found in diabetic patients, is a condition where the bladder muscles fail to contract effectively to discharge urine well. While many patients experience a decreased quality of life, no fundamental treatment has yet been developed. A team led by Professor Dong-Myung Shin of the Department of Cell and Genetic Engineering, Professor Seong Who Kim of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Professor Juhyun Park of the Department of Urology at Asan Medical Center recently discovered that the administration of independently developed stem cells to an animal model with diabetes-induced underactive bladder significantly improved urinary dysfunction.

The research team developed clinical function-enhanced mesenchymal stem cells (PFO-MSC) that regenerate the nerves and detrusor muscles of the bladder and conducted a preclinical efficacy evaluation. First, they induced diabetes in rats by administering low doses of streptozotocin, a drug that destroys beta cells, to create an underactive bladder model. After a single injection of PFO-MSCs, the treated group demonstrated significant improvement in bladder function. Inflammation and damage to the bladder's detrusor muscle were notably reduced, with effects lasting for over four weeks. Notably, the stem cells implanted in the bladder directly contributed to muscle regeneration by expressing a key muscle protein, alpha-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA), essential for restoring detrusor function.

The study findings were recently published in the international academic journal ‘Clinical and Translational Medicine.’