Feline interstitial cystitis (FIC) is a chronic disease of the urinary system in cats. Our main objective is to investigate the concurrent changes in serum, urine and at the bladder tissue level in FIC affected cats which might provoke the observed clinical signs. Twelve adult cats were used in this study, six cats were suffering from signs of feline lower urinary tract dysfunction (FLUTD) and the other six were clinically healthy and served as the control group. All cats were clinically examined. Serum and urine samples were collected and tested for IL-6, IL-1 β, TNF-α level while total nitric oxide (TNO) was additionally tested in urine. Bladder tissue specimens were obtained for histopathological examination and immunohisto-chemical expression of mast cells (MC) tryptase, vasoactive growth factor-A (VAGF-A), E-cadherin and plasma glycoprotein (P-gp). There were significant increases in the serum levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α and in the urinary levels of IL-6, IL-1 β of affected cats in comparison to the control healthy ones. The immunohistochemical technique revealed a marked increase in the MC tryptase and VAGF-A in the bladder tissue of FIC cats compared to the control group, while E-cadherin and p-glycoprotein were significantly decreased. We concluded that mast cells and its released mediators play an important role in the pathogenesis of the interstitial cystitis in cats.

To Cite This Article: Mohamaden WI, Hamad R and Bahr HI, 2019. Alterations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and tissue protein expressions in cats with interstitial cystitis. Pak Vet J, 39(2): 151-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2019.026