Results: At 16 days uroplakin was detectable and it seemed to correlate with the loss of Foxa2, while Foxa1 remained at all time points. Androgen receptor was first noted in stroma at day 16. It localized to urothelial nuclei at day 21 and was undetectable at 42 days. Adjacent to the urothelium alpha-smooth

muscle actin was seen on day 16 and it was localized in bundles to the periphery of the graft at later time points. Staining for basilar urothelium with p63 confirmed basilar orientation at all time points.

Conclusions: We report the temporal spatial expression of various genes in early bladder development. This suggests that some proteins may be potential selleck chemicals markers of bladder progenitor cells. Characterizing these markers may potentially identify bladder progenitor cells that have been directed toward a lineage

path destined to become urothelial cells. Ultimately these multipotential progenitor cells could be isolated and used to study and treat diseases that affect the bladder.”
“Purpose: Bladder outlet obstruction can have devastating consequences. Given the poor outcome, intervention in utero has been advocated in an attempt to salvage pulmonary and renal function. We evaluated whether laparoscopic decompression of the obstructed bladder could be performed efficiently by adapting current robot assisted laparoscopic techniques to access the fetus in utero.

Materials and Methods: At 95 days of gestation 20 fetal sheep underwent ligation of the urethra and urachus. Two to 5 days later robot assisted laparoscopic vesicostomy PKC412 was performed. Ultrasound of the kidneys and bladder was performed before each procedure. At 135 days of gestation the urinary tract was evaluated to assess the

adequacy of bladder decompression Trichostatin A and a patent vesicostomy.

Results: After 48 hours of undergoing ligation all fetuses had bilateral moderate hydronephrosis and a markedly distended bladder. In the first 10 fetuses vesicostomy could not be completed laparoscopically due to limited visualization. Additional modifications in trocar placement and gas infusion allowed vesicostomy to be completed laparoscopically in the last 8 fetuses in 2.5 to 4 hours. Urinary tract decompression and a patent vesicostomy were observed in all of these fetuses postoperatively.

Conclusions: We developed specific modifications in current robot assisted laparoscopic techniques and instrumentation to allow the treatment of bladder outlet obstruction in utero. This procedure may be performed efficiently and it may provide advantages over conventional surgery for fetal intervention.”
“Purpose: The laparoscopic surgical approach to unilateral intra-abdominal testis has replaced the open approach at several large centers.