Differential perturbation of the interstitial cystitis-associated genes of bladder and urethra in rat model.

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic bladder dysfunction characterized as urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia, and pelvic pain. The changes in urethra may wind up with the bladder changes in structure and functions, however, the functions of the urethra in IC remains elusive. The aim of this study was to understand the perturbed gene expression in urethra, compared with urinary bladder, associated with the defected urodynamics. Using female IC mimic rats, a comprehensive RNA-sequencing combined with a bioinformatics analysis was performed and revealed that IC-specific genes in bladder or urethra. Gene ontology analysis suggested that the cell adhesion or extracellular matrix regulation, intracellular signaling cascade, cardiac muscle tissue development, and second messenger-mediated signaling might be the most enriched cellular processes in IC context. Further study of the effects of these bladder- or urethra-specific genes may suggest underlying mechanism of lower urinary tract function and novel therapeutic strategies against IC.