Association of specific HLA alleles in patients with interstitial cystitis suggesting autoimmunity
Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) with Hunner Lesions (Hunner Type Interstitial Cystitis or HIC) is characterized by lesions on the bladder wall. Previous work on these lesions identified B cells and monocytes within the lesion. However, the overall role of the adaptive immune system in the disorder remains uncertain. In this study, we performed HLA sequencing on 12 IC/BPS patients with HIC and 7 Non Hunner Type IC (NHIC) patients, and identified HLA-DQB1*02:02 and HLA-DRB1*07:01:01 have a significant association with HIC. This pilot study provides genetic evidence supporting a potential autoimmune component in HIC and may help define the pathogenesis of at least one subtype of IC/BPS, and lay the groundwork for identifying the etiology of IC/BPS as a disease complex. Identifying the mechanisms can also open new approaches to treatment. Identifying an HLA haplotype associated with HIC would indicate that it is autoimmune.
Authors
- Derin B. Keskin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-6181)
- Robert Moldwin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2603-9160)
- M.A. Akinci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2414-3834)
- Edwin K. Jackson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8101-6009)
- Jiayao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2753-6000)
- Jason M. Kim
- Souhel Najjar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4354-0851)
- Dat T. Tran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0099-1206)
- Jonathan E. Stevens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3015-0494)
- William J. Lane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1097-5229)
- Lori A. Birder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3393-2256)
- Jonathan S. Duke‐Cohan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9478-9609)
- Joel N. H. Stern (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1259-2256)
- Guanglan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6010-490X)
- Inna Tabansky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6454-1816)
- Jaswant Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6439-7831)
- Alexis A. Howard
- Marwa Belhaj
Institutions
- Boston University (US)
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Feinstein Institute for Medical Research (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Smith Institute (GB)
- Lenox Hill Hospital (US)
- Stony Brook School (US)
- Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (US)
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US)
- Arthur Smith Institute for Urology (US)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- Technical University of Denmark (DK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Molecular Medicine
- Published
- 2025-12-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmmed.2025.1712660
- Primary Topic
- Urinary Bladder and Prostate Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases