Identification of potential bladder progenitor cells in the trigone

Urothelial cells are specialized epithelial cells in the bladder that serve as a barrier toward excreted urine. The urothelium consists of superficial cells (most differentiated cells), intermediate cells, and basal cells; the latter have been considered as urothelium progenitor cells. In this study, BrdU or EdU was administrated to pregnant mice during E8–E13 for 2 consecutive days when bladder development occurs. The presence of label retaining cells was investigated in bladders from offspring. In 6 months old mice ~1% of bladder cells retained labeling. Stem cell markers as defined for other tissues (e.g., p63, CD44, CD117, trop2) co-localized or were in close vicinity to label retaining cells, but they were not uniquely limited to these cells. Remarkably, label retaining cells were distributed in all three cell layers (p63+, CK7+, and CK20+) of the urothelium and concentrated in the bladder trigone. This study demonstrates that bladder progenitor cells are present in all cell layers and reside mostly in the trigone. Understanding the geographic location of slow cycling cells provides crucial information for tissue regenerative purposes in the future.