Therapeutic effect of urine-derived stem cells for protamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced interstitial cystitis in a rat model

Background: Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic inflammation disorder mainly within the submucosal and muscular layers of the bladder. As the cause of IC remains unknown, no effective treatments are currently available. Administration of stem cell provides a potential for treatment of IC. Methods: This study was conducted using urine-derived stem cells (USCs) for protamine/lipopolysaccharide (PS/LPS)-induced interstitial cystitis in a rodent model. In total, 60 female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three experimental groups (n = 5/group): sham controls; IC model alone; and IC animals intravenously treated with USCs (1.2 x 10(6) suspended in 0.2 ml phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Results: Our data showed that the bladder micturition function was significantly improved in IC animals intravenously treated with USCs compared to those in the IC model alone group. The amount of antioxidants and antiapoptotic protein biomarkers heme oxygenase (HO)-1, NAD(P)H quinine oxidoreductase (NQO)-1, and Bcl-2 within the bladder tissues were significantly higher in IC animals intravenously treated with USCs and lower in the sham controls group as assessed by Western blot and immunofluorescent staining. In addition, the expression of autophagy-related protein LC3A was significantly higher in the IC model alone group than that in IC animals intravenously treated with USCs. Inflammatory biomarkers and apoptotic biomarkers (interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B, caspase 3, and Bax) and the downstream inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers (endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy-related protein (GRP78, LC3, Beclin1)) in the bladder tissue revealed statistically different results between groups. Conclusions: USCs restored the bladder function and histological construction via suppressing oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction, and apoptotic processes in a PS/LPS-induced IC rodent model, which provides potential for treatment of patients with IC.