Experimental prostatitis in nonhuman primates: II. Ascending acute prostatitis

Bacterial prostatitis is a common cause of urinary tract infection in males, but little is known of its pathophysiology. To study this, we developed a nonhuman primate model using a wild-type clinical isolate of Escherichia coli. Primates have a prostatic anatomy that is similar to humans, which makes them ideal as an animal model of this disease. The monkeys had a urethral inoculation of this organism and were then followed with urine, blood, and semen cultures, white blood counts, and renal scans. They were sacrificed at from 10 days to 4 weeks, and their genitourinary tracts histologically examined. The prostatitis paralleled that reported in humans, and we conclude that the infection occurs by the ascending route. The organisms causing the infection in man do so in our primate model, and the histologic change is also the same. Thus, the primate model holds promise for studies to help us understand this disease.