Gene expression profile of bladder tissue of patients with ulcerative interstitial cystitis

BACKGROUND: Interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic bladder disease with an increasing incidence, is diagnosed using subjective symptoms in combination with cystoscopic and histological evidence. By cystoscopic examination, IC can be classified into an ulcerative and a non-ulcerative subtype. To better understand this debilitating disease on a molecular level, a comparative gene expression profile of bladder biopsies from patients with ulcerative IC and control patients has been performed. RESULTS: Gene expression profiles from bladder biopsies of five patients with ulcerative IC and six control patients were generated using Affymetrix GeneChip expression arrays (Affymetrix--GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0). More than 31,000 of > 54,000 tested probe sets were present (detection p-value < 0.05). The difference between the two groups was significant for over 3,500 signals (t-test p-value < 0.01), and approximately 2,000 of the signals (corresponding to approximately 1,000 genes) showed an IC-to-healthy expression ratio greater than two. The IC pattern had similarities to patterns from immune system, lymphatic, and autoimmune diseases. The dominant biological processes were the immune and inflammatory responses. Many of the up-regulated genes were expressed in leukocytes, suggesting that leukocyte invasion into the bladder wall is a dominant feature of ulcerative IC. Histopathological data supported these findings. CONCLUSION: GeneChip expression arrays present a global picture of ulcerative IC and provide us with a series of marker genes characteristic for this subtype of the disease. Evaluation of biopsies from other bladder patients with similar symptoms (e.g. patients with non-ulcerative IC) will further indicate whether the data presented here will be valuable for the diagnosis of IC

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Tape functionality: position, change in shape, and outcome after TVT procedure—mid-term results

# The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Introduction and hypothesis This study evaluates the relevance of the tape position and change in shape (tape functionality) under in vivo conditions for mid-term outcome. Methods Changes in the sonographic tension-free vagina

Current Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence by Bulking Agents and Laser Therapy—An Update

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects around 20% of women. In addition to the established suburethral sling insertion, two less invasive approaches are of interest today: urethral bulking agents and vaginal laser therapy. This review discusses articles through December 2023 identified by a PubMed literature search using the keywords “incontinence” and “bulking” or “laser”. Although the two approaches are less effective than sling insertions, there are specific conditions in which one or the other technique is more advantageous. Injecting bulking agents into the urethra only takes some minutes and works without general anesthesia. The method is particularly suited for elderly, frail, or obese patients with multiple comorbidities, but is also applicable for all patients and in combination with other therapies. Generally, the safety profile is good but differs between bulking materials. Two laser types—the Erbium:YAG laser with SMOOTH-mode and the fractional ablative CO2 laser—deliver heat into the tissue to induce tissue tightening and regeneration. Intravaginal laser therapy improves mild to moderate SUI, while studies describe how intraurethral laser therapy is also beneficial for severe SUI. Young women between childbirths, as well as postmenopausal women, may benefit from laser therapy. The method is safe, can be performed on an outpatient basis, and does not require any artificial material

Alkaline Phosphatase Expression during Monocyte Differentiation Overlapping markers as a link between monocytic cells, dendritic cells, osteoclasts and osteoblasts

Human monocytes (Mo) in culture can be differentiated into macrophages (M phi), dendritic cells (DC) and osteoclasts. In addition, we have established a Mo-derived in vitro granuloma model which here was compared with ex-vivo isolated foreign body granuloma cells. In these models overlapping phenotypes developed between monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDC), osteoclasts, M phi, and osteoblasts. In Mo cultures granulomas were induced by immobilized particulate material. AP activity (osteoblast marker) was found to be co-expressed with cytoplasmic tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) as a marker of osteoclasts. While proliferating, the number of AP(+) cells decreased, being replaced by cells co-expressing the osteoclast markers vitronectin receptor (VNR) and TRAP. Coexpression of the Mo/M phi marker CD68 with AP or VNR confirmed the monocytic origin of the cells. When Mo were treated with interleukin-4 (IL-4), the number of AP(+) cells markedly increased and remained stably expressed over 12 days. In explants from ex vivo granulomas obtained from endoprosthetic revisions the major cell type was the AP(+) cell co-expressing CD68. The bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) as a marker of osteoblasts was detected by FAGS analysis in the ex vivo granuloma cells. By RT-PCR the mRNA for osteocalcin, which is a highly specific marker fur osteoblasts, was detected. From our results we conclude an ontogenetic relationship between macrophages, DC and osteoclasts. Furthermore, the data suggest a transdifferentiation between Mo and osteoblasts

AFFECTS: Advanced Forecast For Ensuring Communications Through Space

AFFECTS is a space research project under the seventh framework programme of the European Union. The natural hazards of space weather have the potential to catastrophically disrupt the operations of technological systems. In the AFFECTS project European and US scientists are developing an advanced prototype space weather warning system to safeguard the operation of telecommunication and navigation systems on Earth against the threat of solar storms in the timeline of March 2011 until February 2014