Gene Expression-Based Functional Differences between the Bladder Body and Trigonal Urothelium in Adolescent Female...

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Molecular Biology
• Genomics

Background:

• The bladder's distinct anatomical regions, the body and trigone, may possess unique molecular characteristics.
• Understanding these differences is crucial for diagnosing and treating bladder dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify molecular distinctions in the urothelial transcriptomes of the bladder body and trigone.
• To explore potential links between these transcriptomic differences and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis.

Main Methods:

• Massive sequencing of total epithelial RNA to analyze urothelial transcriptomes.
• Amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to assess urinary microbiome profiles.
• Differential gene expression analysis and pathway enrichment analysis (Reactome).

Main Results:

• Identified 10,261 differentially expressed genes between bladder body and trigone urothelia.
• Enriched pathways in the bladder body included extracellular matrix organization and the neuronal system.
• Enriched pathways in the trigone included RHO GTPase effectors, cornified envelope formation, and neutrophil degranulation.
• Significant differences in five bacterial taxa were observed in urine between patients and controls.

Conclusions:

• The bladder body and trigone urothelia are functionally distinct tissues at the molecular level.
• The specific molecular differences contributing to adolescent bladder pain syndrome remain to be elucidated.