Expression of pain-sensing ion channels in carrageenan-induced rat model of NIH category IIIA chronic inflammatory prostatitis.

Prostatitis is a common urological condition worldwide, with nonbacterial chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), classified as National Institutes of Health (NIH) category III prostatitis, being the most prevalent form. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying pain in CP/CPPS by investigating the expression of key pain-transducing ion channels: acid-sensing ion channel type 3 (ASIC3), purinergic channel P2X type 3 (P2X3), and transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) innervating the prostate. Prostatic inflammation was induced in male Wistar rats via bilateral intraprostatic injections of carrageenan (25 µl of 3% w/v in sterile saline). Seventy-two hours post-surgery, immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed to assess the localization and expression of ASIC3, P2X3, and TRPV1 ion channel proteins. Our study demonstrated a significantly increased expression of the channels P2X3 and TRPV1 in the L5-L6 DRG of rats with experimentally induced prostatitis. These findings provide evidence for the possible involvement of these ion channels in the generation and/or maintenance of pain in CP/CPSS, suggesting they may serve as potential drug targets for the development of effective treatments. The study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying pain in CP/CPPS by identifying the ion channel transducers involved in this debilitating condition. This could lead to the recognition of novel therapeutic targets and facilitate the drug discovery process for treating prostatitis-associated pelvic pain.