The bladder can regenerate like nobody’s business and now we know why The bladder is a master at self-repair. When damaged by infection or injury, the organ can mend itself quickly, calling upon specialized cells in its lining to repair tissue and restore a barrier against harmful materials concentrated in urine. But a new study in mice from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) shows for the first time that non-bladder cells from a nearby anatomical structure called the Wolffian duct can actually provide an assist. It can contribute cells that migrate to the bladder, adopt bladder-like characteristics, and help restore the organ’s function. “We saw these other cells come in to compensate for the loss of bladder cells, ” says Diya Joseph, a UW–Madison doctoral student and lead author of the new study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.