Urinary ATP may be a biomarker of interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome and its severity

Urinary tract cells exhibit a response to bladder distension by releasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP).Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) patients demonstrate elevated levels of urinary ATP in comparison to asymptomatic controls.The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of urinary ATP as a non-invasive biomarker for IC/BPS and its symptom severity.This study involved 56 patients diagnosed with IC/BPS, and 50 asymptomatic individuals as controls.Urine were collected from both groups.The level of urinary ATP was measured using a lucigenin-luciferase bioluminescence method.The severity of IC/BPS symptoms was assessed using the visual analogue score (VAS), interstitial cystitis symptom index (ICSI), and interstitial cystitis problem index (ICPI) from the O'Leary-Sant score.The study examined the correlations between symptom scores and urinary ATP levels specifically in patients with IC/BPS.Urinary ATP were found to be significantly elevated in IC/BPS patients compared to the control group (p < 0.0001).Among IC/BPS patients, there was a notable positive association observed between the concentration of urinary ATP and VAS, ICPI, and ICSI (p < 0.0001).The threshold value for ATP concentration was determined to be 56.6 nM, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.811 (95% CI: 0.730-0.892).Individuals diagnosed with IC/BPS have been found to excrete higher amounts of ATP in urine.This observation suggests that urinary ATP could potentially be utilized as a non-invasive biomarker for IC/BPS.Furthermore, the levels of ATP in the urine may also possess predictive value in terms of symptom severity.