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Neonatal Cystitis Makes Adult Female Rat Urinary Bladders More Sensitive to Low Concentration Microbial Antigens
Ashley C Archer1, Jennifer J DeBerry2, Cary DeWitte2
1University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Research and Reports in Urology
|December 18, 2023
Summary
Neonatal bladder inflammation in rats primes adult bladders to overreact to microbial triggers like LPS and Zymosan, potentially explaining symptom flares in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) patients after infections.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Immunology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a chronic pain condition.
- Patients with IC/BPS experience symptom flares triggered by infections.
- Childhood urinary tract infections are common in IC/BPS patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if neonatal bladder inflammation (NBI) sensitizes adult rat bladders to microbial antigens.
- To explore the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in this sensitization process.
Main Methods:
- Female rats underwent neonatal bladder inflammation (NBI) or control treatment.
- Adult rats were challenged with microbial antigens: lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Zymosan.
- Bladder and spinal cord TLR2 and TLR4 levels were measured.
- Visceromotor responses (VMRs) to bladder distention were quantified.
Main Results:
- NBI rats showed increased bladder TLR2 and TLR4 protein levels compared to controls.
- NBI rats exhibited significantly augmented VMRs to LPS and Zymosan.
- Control rats showed minimal responses to these microbial antigens.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal bladder inflammation primes the adult bladder to heightened responses to microbial antigens.
- Increased TLR expression in NBI rats likely mediates this hypersensitivity.
- This preclinical model may explain IC/BPS symptom flares following subclinical infections.
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