Fig. 8: Histological analyses of regenerated bladder tissue.

A (First row) Gross appearances of bladder longitudinal sections of each scaffold group and the nonaugmented control group 12 weeks postoperation. Reconstructed areas of the scaffold implantation are bracketed by dashed lines. Scale bars = 5 mm. (Second and third rows) Magnification of the representative urothelium (UE) and smooth muscle (SM) tissue architecture bracketed in the first row. Scale bars = 200 μm. (fourth row) Masson’s trichrome staining of the magnified regenerated bladder areas is bracketed in the first row. Black arrows indicate SF remnants. Scale bars = 200 μm. B Cytokeratin and α-SMA markers that reflect urothelial and smooth muscle, respectively, in the regenerated bladder tissue of the four groups at 12 weeks postoperation. Scale bar = 100 µm. C, D Histomorphometric assessment of the extent of regenerated urothelium and smooth muscle in central regions of the regenerated bladders. Statistical analysis is shown as ^★p < 0.05, ns no significance.