You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 May 2022MP49-13 BLADDER-CENTRIC INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/BLADDER PAIN SYNDROME PATIENTS EXHIBIT A VARIABLE BLADDER MUCOSAL FIBROSIS-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE BASED ON HUNNER'S LESION STATUS Dylan T. Wolff, Raymond Xu, Sarah Wachtman, Robert J. Evans, Gopal Badlani, Catherine A. Matthews, and Stephen J. Walker Dylan T. WolffDylan T. Wolff More articles by this author , Raymond XuRaymond Xu More articles by this author , Sarah WachtmanSarah Wachtman More articles by this author , Robert J. EvansRobert J. Evans More articles by this author , Gopal BadlaniGopal Badlani More articles by this author , Catherine A. MatthewsCatherine A. Matthews More articles by this author , and Stephen J. WalkerStephen J. Walker More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002624.13AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The concept of disease progression in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is somewhat enigmatic in that only ∼10% of (typically older) patients appear to progress to a bladder-centric phenotype. The objective of this study was to examine fibrosis-related gene expression profiles in bladder mucosa from a heterogeneous cohort of IC/BPS patients, both bladder-centric and non-bladder-centric, to determine if subgroup-specific patterns suggestive of disease progression were apparent. METHODS: Bladder mucosal biopsies were collected from 48 females (32 IC/BPS patients; 16 non-IC/BPS controls); IC/BPS patients were further divided into two groups based on anesthetic bladder capacity (BC) ≤400cc (low; N=16) or >400cc (non-low; N=16). Within each BC subgroup, one-half of the patients were Hunner’s lesion positive (HL+) and the other half were HL-. Following RNA isolation and quality assessment, gene expression was measured using the nCounter Fibrosis Panel (Nanostring), that allows for profiling 770 genes across 51 annotated pathways involved in the four stages of fibrosis (initiation, inflammation, proliferation, and modification). Comparisons were made between: (1) all IC v control, (2) all HL+ v control, and (3) all HL- v control. Subgroup analyses compared bladder-centric (i.e., low BC) IC patients +/- HL. RESULTS: Overall, in the comparisons of gene expression in mucosal specimens from IC/BPS patients to non-IC/BPS controls, there was a statistically significant overrepresentation of genes involved in fibrosis signaling, disruption of tight junctions and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, and infiltration of inflammatory cells (Figure 1 - top). In the comparisons between samples from bladder-centric patients (low BC) only, with and without HL, the HL- gene expression profile was representative of fibrosis signaling and wound healing signaling while the HL+ profiles were representative of immune cell activation and inflammatory response (Figure 1 – bottom). CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary data presented here suggest the etiology of disease progression in IC/BPS to a bladder-centric phenotype likely involves pathophysiological fibrotic processes beyond a finding of Hunner’s lesions. Source of Funding: 1R01DK124599-01, R21DK106554-01 © 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 207Issue Supplement 5May 2022Page: e858 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Dylan T. Wolff More articles by this author Raymond Xu More articles by this author Sarah Wachtman More articles by this author Robert J. Evans More articles by this author Gopal Badlani More articles by this author Catherine A. Matthews More articles by this author Stephen J. Walker More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...