Fibrosis is often caused by chronic tissue injury leading to a persisting inflammatory response with excessive accumulation of extracellular connective tissue proteins. Peyronie’s disease, urethral stricture and penile (corpora cavernosa) fibrosis are localized fibrotic disorders of the penile connective tissues that can substantially impair a patient’s quality of life. Research over the past few decades has revealed the ability of stem cells to secrete a wide range of paracrine factors, a characteristic that could be exploited therapeutically to prevent and treat several inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. In preclinical studies, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have proven to be the most effective and readily available type of stem cells for therapeutic use. An important advantage of MSCs is their ability to circumvent the immune system and function as immunomodulatory ‘drug stores’ to influence multiple cell types simultaneously. Many studies using stem cells have been applied exclusively to corpora cavernosa fibrosis owing to its well-established disease models. A plethora of preclinical data suggest the benefit of stem cells for use in penile fibrosis. However, their exact mechanism of action and optimal timing and mode of administration must be determined before clinical translation.

纤维化通常是由慢性组织损伤引起的，导致持续的炎症反应以及细胞外结缔组织蛋白的过度积累。佩罗尼氏病，尿道狭窄和阴茎（海绵体）纤维化是阴茎结缔组织的局部纤维化疾病，可能严重损害患者的生活质量。过去几十年的研究表明，干细胞具有分泌多种旁分泌因子的能力，这一特征可以通过治疗方法用于预防和治疗多种炎症和纤维化疾病。在临床前研究中，间充质干细胞（MSCs）已被证明是用于治疗用途的最有效，最容易获得的干细胞类型。MSC的一个重要优点是其能够绕过免疫系统并具有免疫调节作用，同时可以影响多种细胞类型的“药物储存库”。由于其成熟的疾病模型，许多使用干细胞的研究已专门应用于海绵体纤维化。大量的临床前数据表明干细胞在阴茎纤维化中的益处。但是，必须在临床翻译之前确定其确切的作用机理以及最佳的给药时机和方式。