Increased Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 8 Expression in the development of bladder pain in patients with Interstitial cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

Abstract Objective To explore the role of TRPM8 in the occurrence and development of bladder pain in IC /BPS patients. The differences in the content and location distribution of TRPM8 in bladder were compared between IC/BPS and control group. Methods All enrolled patients answered questionnaire such as O'leary-Sant symptom index, VAS, QOL and PUF score, then bladder specimens were collected. Analyses such as qRT-PCR, western blot, and immunofluorescence were performed to determine the changes in TRPM8 content and expression in neurons and sensory nerves between the IC/BPS and control group, and the relationships between TRPM8 and various clinical scores were also analyzed. Results There were significant differences in the O'leary-Sant score, PUF score, VAS and QOL score between IC/BPS and the control group (P 1 the number of neurons and sensory nerves displayed a significant upward trend in the bladder tissue of IC/BPS patients 2 the expression levels of TRPM8 on neurons and sensory nerves also increased significantly in IC/BPS group. Conclusions In IC/BPS patients, TRPM8 content increased significantly and mainly expressed on increased neurons and sensory nerves in bladder tissue. These results may indicate a mechanism by which bladder pain is more easily to spread in IC/BPS patients, and may also indicate an important mechanism for pain sensitization in such patients.