Correlation of gene expression with bladder capacity in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
Interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome are terms used to describe a heterogeneous chronic pelvic and bladder pain disorder. Despite its significant prevalence, our understanding of disease etiology is poor. We molecularly characterized interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and determined whether there are clinical factors that correlate with gene expression.


METHODS
Bladder biopsies from female subjects with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and female controls without signs of the disease were collected and divided into those with normal and low anesthetized bladder capacity, respectively. Samples then underwent RNA extraction and microarray assay. Data generated by these assays were analyzed using Omics Explorer (Qlucore, Lund, Sweden), GeneSifter® Analysis Edition 4.0 and Ingenuity® Pathway Analysis to determine similarity among samples within and between groups, and measure differentially expressed transcripts unique to each phenotype.


RESULTS
A total of 16 subjects were included in study. Principal component analysis and unsupervised hierarchical clustering showed clear separation between gene expression in tissues from subjects with low compared to normal bladder capacity. Gene expression in tissue from patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome who had normal bladder capacity did not significantly differ from that in controls without interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. Pairwise analysis revealed that pathways related to inflammatory and immune response were most involved.


CONCLUSIONS
Microarray analysis provides insight into the potential pathological condition underlying interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. This pilot study shows that patients with this disorder who have low compared to normal bladder capacity have significantly different molecular characteristics, which may reflect a difference in disease pathophysiology.
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Electronic address: mcolaco@wakehealth.edu.
Marc
M
Colaco
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
David S
DS
Koslov
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Tristan
T
Keys
Department of Urology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Robert J
RJ
Evans
Department of Urology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Gopal H
GH
Badlani
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Karl-Erik
KE
Andersson
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Stephen J
SJ
Walker
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D018856:Cystitis, Interstitial / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003558:Cystoscopy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013577:Syndrome; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
D012313:RNA
cystitis; gene expression; interstitial; microarray analysis; pain; urinary bladder