The bladder stores urine behind an exceptionally tight lining called the urothelium. This protective lining keeps urine and bacteria away from the sensitive tissue beneath it. After injury, normally dormant stem cells beneath the lining awaken and rapidly rebuild the tissue. But in people with chronic urinary tract infections or bladder pain syndrome, this repair process is often disrupted, allowing burning pain and inflammation to persist. We want to understand how the urothelium functions – and how it can be healed.
reNEW research
We study how the urothelium functions and repairs itself inside the living organ. As the bladder is a difficult organ to observe directly, we also grow mini-bladders in a dish from human stem cells in the lab. With these models we can then investigate diseases such as urinary tract infections and bladder pain syndrome, test new ways to promote healing, and restore bladder function.
Image description
Bright blue stem cells awaken below the fiery red lining, its folds evoking burning waves of inflammation.
Credits
Oscar Bay Axelsen, PhD Student, Aragona lab, reNEW Copenhagen.
