Genetically engineered mice provide clues

ith a $1 million grant in hand, the Medical Center will be the first to develop a study of genetically engineered mice as a way to understand the causes and potential treatments for interstitial cystitis (IC).

Estimated to affect nearly 1 million Americans, this debilitating bladder condition causes frequent urination and is associated with severe pelvic and lower abdominal pain. Physicians do not know why some people develop IC, and a diagnosis is often made only by excluding other conditions.

A leading medical theory is that IC is caused when chemicals in the urine penetrate the normally impervious lining of the bladder and irritate cells deep inside the bladder wall. But researchers do not have a thorough understanding of how this leaky bladder defect occurs. The research team, led by Edward Schwarz, assistant professor of orthopaedics and of microbiology and immunology, believes the best hope of testing the bladder permeability theory is to study mice that are genetically engineered to have a similar condition.

Edward Messing, chairman of urology at Strong Memorial Hospital and coinvestigator of the research, greatly heightened awareness of IC in 1978 by describing ways to diagnose the disease.

"Unfortunately, while this syndrome is now relatively easy to diagnose, it can be devastating for patients, both because of the severity of symptoms and our inability to treat it consistently," says Messing. "The study will permit us to develop and test new therapeutic strategies, as well as to monitor patient responses to these treatments. This has the very real potential of revolutionizing therapy for IC."

Maintained by University Public Relations
Please send your comments and suggestions to:
Public Relations.