Institute of Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Nov 14;24(22):16296. doi: 10.3390/ijms242216296.
The urothelium is a vital permeability barrier that prevents the uncontrolled flow of urinary components into and out of the bladder interstitium. Our study addressed the question of possible sex-specific variations in the urothelium of healthy mice and their impact on chronic bladder inflammation. We found that healthy female bladders have a less robust barrier function than male bladders, as indicated by significant differences in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) values. These differences could be attributed to detected higher claudin 2 mRNA expression and a less pronounced glycocalyx in females than in males. In addition, TEER measurements showed delayed barrier recovery in chronically inflamed female bladders. We found subtle differences in the expressions of genes involved in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton between the sexes, as well as pronounced urothelial hyperplasia in females compensating for attenuated barrier function. The identified genetic variations in glycosylation pathways may also contribute to this divergence. Our findings add to the growing body of literature on the intricate sex-specific nuances of urothelial permeability function and their implications for chronic bladder inflammation. Understanding these differences could lead to tailored diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in the treatment of bladder disorders in the future.
尿路上皮是一种重要的渗透性屏障,可防止尿液成分不受控制地进出膀胱间质。我们的研究探讨了健康小鼠尿路上皮可能存在的性别特异性差异及其对慢性膀胱炎症的影响。我们发现,健康雌性膀胱的屏障功能不如雄性膀胱强大,这表现在跨上皮电阻 (TEER) 值存在显著差异。这些差异可能归因于雌性的紧密连接蛋白 2 (claudin 2) mRNA 表达水平较高,糖萼较不明显,而雄性则相反。此外,TEER 测量结果显示,慢性炎症的雌性膀胱的屏障恢复较慢。我们发现,两性之间参与调节肌动蛋白细胞骨架的基因表达存在细微差异,同时雌性出现明显的尿路上皮增生,以代偿减弱的屏障功能。糖基化途径中的鉴定基因变异也可能促成这种差异。我们的发现增加了关于尿路上皮渗透性功能的复杂性别特异性细微差异及其对慢性膀胱炎症的影响的文献数量。了解这些差异可能为未来膀胱疾病的诊断和治疗提供有针对性的方法。
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