Diabetic erectile dysfunction has witnessed extensive preclinical and clinical explorations of intracavernous injection of stem cells therapy. However, intracavernous injection of stem cells for diabetic erectile dysfunction is challenged by rapid diffusion from cavernous sinus. Here, we found that a benzaldehyde terminated poly (ethylene glycol)/glycol chitosan (CHO-PEG/GCS) hydrogel with injectability and self-healability served as a stem cell carrier to prolong cell retention in corpus cavernosum. It was able to gelate under physiological condition and encapsulate adipose stem cells (ASCs) without reducing proliferation after injection. Encapsulated labelled ASCs presented higher fluorescence than non-encapsulated ones in the region of penis at 14 days after intracavernous injection in male rats. CHO-PEG/GCS hydrogel enhanced ASCs to ameliorate diabetes-induced fibrosis and apoptosis of CD31-positive endothelial cells, α-SMA-positive smooth muscle and NeuN-positive neural fibers 12 weeks post-operation. It also synergized with ASCs to elevate cGMP level and promote erectile function. CHO-PEG/GCS hydrogel serves as a promising stem cell carrier in conditions requiring injection and in situ gelation to prolong cell retention.

糖尿病性勃起功能障碍已得到海绵内注射干细胞疗法的广泛临床前和临床探索。然而，从海绵窦快速扩散挑战了海绵内注射干细胞治疗糖尿病性勃起功能障碍。在这里，我们发现具有可注射性和自愈性的苯甲醛封端的聚（乙二醇）/乙二醇壳聚糖（CHO-PEG / GCS）水凝胶可作为干细胞载体来延长海绵体中的细胞滞留。它能够在生理条件下胶凝并封装脂肪干细胞（ASC），而不会降低注射后的增殖。雄性大鼠腔内注射后第14天，封装的标记ASC在阴茎区域的荧光强度高于未封装的ASC。CHO-PEG / GCS水凝胶可增强ASC，以改善糖尿病引起的纤维化和CD31阳性内皮细胞，α-SMA阳性平滑肌和NeuN阳性神经纤维的凋亡。它还与ASC协同作用，以提高cGMP水平并促进勃起功能。CHO-PEG / GCS水凝胶在需要注射的条件下可作为有前途的干细胞载体原位凝胶化可延长细胞保留时间。