PURPOSE: The study sought to identify changes in the urothelial basement membrane (UBM) associated with interstitial cystitis (IC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical assessment of bladder biopsies from IC patients and controls was compared with clinical and histologic findings. RESULTS: Selective decreases or loss of type IV collagen staining, but not laminin, were found in the UBM of 5 of 11 IC patients with no change in type IV collagen staining of other bladder wall sites. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of type IV collagen may represent a primary or secondary event and could alter the UBM's role in permeability, thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of IC in the subset of IC patients exhibiting this change.
PURPOSE: The study sought to identify changes in the urothelial basement membrane (UBM) associated with interstitial cystitis (IC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical assessment of bladder biopsies from IC patients and controls was compared with clinical and histologic findings. RESULTS: Selective decreases or loss of type IV collagen staining, but not laminin, were found in the UBM of 5 of 11 IC patients with no change in type IV collagen staining of other bladder wall sites. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of type IV collagen may represent a primary or secondary event and could alter the UBM's role in permeability, thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of IC in the subset of IC patients exhibiting this change.