The Role of Viral Infection in the Pathogenesis of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe pathogenesis of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is still unclear. The diagnosis of IC/BPS is made after ruling out bacterial cystitis. However, viral infection in the bladder might be a pathogenic factor for IC/BPS. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the association between viral infection and IC/BPS.Recent FindingsThe presence of urinary tract viruses in patients with IC/BPS has been sporadically investigated since the 1970s. Early studies used viral culture to investigate urine and bladder tissue samples from patients with IC/BPS, but viruses were rarely detected. With polymerase chain reaction, several studies have reported increased papillomavirus, BK virus, and John Cunningham virus viral load in urine samples from patients with IC/BPS. The presence of urinary papillomavirus was associated with more severe IC/BPS symptoms. Recent studies have used transcriptomic RNA sequencing to investigate gene expression in bladder tissue samples from patients with IC/BPS. Enriched viral infection-associated gene pathways in patients with IC/BPS were noted in the studies, including cytomegalovirus infection, Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection, human papillomavirus infection, and Epstein –Barr virus (EBV) infection. Our recent studies reported the presence of EBV in IC/BPS bladders, especially in patients with IC/BPS with Hunner’s lesion (HIC). EBV latency and lytic infection were observed in HIC bladders, ind...
Source: Current Bladder Dysfunction Reports - Category: Urology & Nephrology Source Type: research