Institute of Medical Physiology "Richard Burian", Belgrade University Faculty of Medicine, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Institute of Pathophysiology "Ljubodrag Buba Mihailovic", Belgrade University Faculty of Medicine, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2023 Apr 6;2023:3199988. doi: 10.1155/2023/3199988. eCollection 2023.
Pathogenesis of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) remains unclear since it represents an interplay between immunological, endocrine, and neuropsychiatric factors. Patients suffering from CP/CPPS often develop mental health-related disorders such as anxiety, depression, or cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate depression-like behavior, learning, and memory processes in a rat model of CP/CPPS and to determine the alterations in hippocampal structure and function. Adult male Wistar albino rats ( = 6 in each group) from CP/CPPS (single intraprostatic injection of 3% -carrageenan, day 0) and Sham (0.9% NaCl) groups were subjected to pain threshold test (days 2, 3, and 7), depression-like behavior, and learning-memory tests (both on day 7). Decreased pain threshold in the scrotal region and histopathological presence of necrosis and inflammatory infiltrate in prostatic tissue confirmed the development of CP/CPPS. The forced swimming test revealed the depression-like behavior evident through increased floating time, while the modified elevated plus maze test revealed learning and memory impairment through prolonged transfer latency in the CP/CPPS group in comparison with Sham ( < 0.001 and < 0.001, respectively). Biochemical analysis showed decreased serum levels of testosterone in CP/CPPS group vs. the Sham ( < 0.001). The CP/CPPS induced a significant upregulation of ICAM-1 in rat cortex ( < 0.05) and thalamus ( < 0.01) and increased GFAP expression in the hippocampal astrocytes ( < 0.01) vs. Sham, suggesting subsequent neuroinflammation and astrocytosis. Moreover, a significantly decreased number of DCX+ and Ki67+ neurons in the hippocampus was observed in the CP/CPPS group ( < 0.05) vs. Sham, indicating decreased neurogenesis and neuronal proliferation. Taken together, our data indicates that CP/CPPS induces depression-like behavior and cognitive declines that are at least partly mediated by neuroinflammation and decreased neurogenesis accompanied by astrocyte activation.
慢性前列腺炎/慢性骨盆疼痛综合征(CP/CPPS)的发病机制尚不清楚,因为它代表了免疫、内分泌和神经精神因素之间的相互作用。患有 CP/CPPS 的患者常出现心理健康相关障碍,如焦虑、抑郁或认知障碍。本研究旨在探讨 CP/CPPS 大鼠模型中抑郁样行为、学习和记忆过程,并确定海马结构和功能的变化。CP/CPPS(第 0 天单前列腺内注射 3%角叉菜胶)和 Sham(0.9%NaCl)组的成年雄性 Wistar 白化大鼠(每组 6 只)分别进行疼痛阈值试验(第 2、3 和 7 天)、抑郁样行为和学习-记忆测试(均在第 7 天)。阴囊区疼痛阈值降低和前列腺组织坏死和炎症浸润的组织病理学存在证实了 CP/CPPS 的发展。强迫游泳试验显示出明显的抑郁样行为,表现为漂浮时间增加,而改良高架十字迷宫试验显示 CP/CPPS 组的学习和记忆障碍,表现为转移潜伏期延长,与 Sham 相比(<0.001 和 <0.001)。生化分析显示 CP/CPPS 组血清睾酮水平低于 Sham(<0.001)。CP/CPPS 在大鼠皮质(<0.05)和丘脑(<0.01)中引起 ICAM-1 的显著上调,并增加海马星形胶质细胞中的 GFAP 表达(<0.01),表明随后的神经炎症和星形胶质细胞增生。此外,CP/CPPS 组海马中 DCX+和 Ki67+神经元的数量明显减少(<0.05),表明神经发生和神经元增殖减少。总之,我们的数据表明 CP/CPPS 引起抑郁样行为和认知能力下降,至少部分是由神经炎症和神经发生减少以及星形胶质细胞激活介导的。