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Noninflammatory chronic pelvic pain syndrome: immunological study in blood, ejaculate and prostate tissue
1Clinic of Urology and Institutes of Clinical Pathology, Medical Microbiology, and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland. john@uro.usz.ch
Objectives:
The aim of this prospective study was to observe immunophenotypic patterns in patients with noninflammatory chronic pelvic pain syndrome (Cat IIIB CPPS) for further description and as possible surrogate markers for diagnosis and treatment.
Methods:
Eighty-eight patients with a referral diagnosis of chronic prostatitis underwent fractionated urinary cultures including expressed prostate secretion (EPS) and ejaculate analysis twice on two occasions. Monthly serum analyses included C3c, C4, IL-1alpha, sIL-2R, and IL-6. One hundred samples from healthy individuals were used as the control group for serum analysis. Monthly ejaculate testing was done for IgG, IgA, IgM, IL-1alpha, sIL-2R, and IL-6. The control group for ejaculate analysis was composed of 96 normal ejaculates (according to the WHO criteria). Immunohistochemical detection of CD3 cells (T lymphocytes) and CD20 cells (B lymphocytes) was performed in 71 biopsy cylinders of Cat IIIB CPPS patients and in 25 prostate biopsy cylinders of men without symptoms or obstruction.
Results:
Complete sampling of urinary, serum and ejaculate specimens was achieved in 50/88 (57%) patients. Cat IIIB CPPS was observed in 44/50 (88%) patients. Intra-acinar T-lymphocytic infiltrates were dominated by T cytotoxic cells (p = 0.05). Immunohistochemical studies showed inflammatory expression in serum complement, serum interleukin, and ejaculate interleukin concentrations in relation to the presence of large numbers of T cells (all p values < or =0.01). No difference was found in the proportion of B lymphocytes in patients with Cat IIIB CPPS compared to the control group. Serum and ejaculate IL-6 and ejaculate IgA increased significantly and dropped again, correlating with a release of clinical symptoms.
Conclusions:
Interleukin, complement and immunoglobulin determinations in serum and ejaculate reveal an inflammatory process even in Cat IIIB CPPS. The findings of intra-acinar T-cell-rich infiltrates and the associated inflammatory reaction may be a significant advance in defining Cat IIIB CPPS caused by a possible autoimmune component. Serum and ejaculate IL-6 and ejaculate IgA are possible surrogate markers for the diagnosis and treatment of Cat IIIB CPPS.