Fine structural characterization of chondroitin sulfate in urine of bladder pain syndrome subjects

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Urothelial glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are decreased in bladder pain syndrome (BPS), and urinary GAGs are thought to reflect this deficiency. In previous researches, urine GAG levels were found increased, decreased, or similar between BPS and controls. Additionally, no study is available on the structure characterization of urinary chondroitin sulfate (CS) in BPS patients.METHODS: CS in the urine of BPS-affected patients and controls has been determined by specific electrophoresis, along with total GAGs and heparan sulfate (HS) percentage, and CS disaccharides have been quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography.RESULTS: No significant differences were obtained for total amount of GAGs, absolute content of CS and HS, and their relative percentages. Moreover, no differences were observed for CS structure confirming similar urine CS composition in BPS subjects and controls.CONCLUSIONS: This study found no significant differences of BPS and control urine GAG levels and CS structure to allow use of these parameters as diagnostic markers for BPS diagnosis.