Effects of Exogenous Glycosaminoglycans on the Histological Structure of the Rat Bladder in Experimental Cystitis

St. Petersburg State Academy of Veterinary Medicine, Russia. Address for correspondence: vesob@mail.ru. V. E. Sobolev A fi ne layer of mucopolysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans) has been detected on the bladder mucosa surface in humans, cattle, and some animal species [3,4,6,8,9]. The glycosaminoglycan layer protects the bladder mucosa from aggressive components of the urine and thus prevents the development of infl ammatory process in it [5,7,11]. Therapeutic effi ciency of some glycosaminoglycan-based dosage forms in cystitis has been demonstrated in humans and some animal species [10,12]. However, the morphology of bladder tissues under conditions of glycosaminoglycan treatment aimed at prevention and therapy of infl ammatory processes in the bladder has not been described. We studied the effects of oral therapy with a complex glycosaminoglycan preparation on the development of infl ammatory process and type of bladder lesions in rats with experimental cystitis and compared the methods for histochemical identifi cation of mucopolysaccharides in bladder tissues after oral glycosaminoglycan therapy.