Nerve Growth Factor in Bladder Dysfunction: Contributing Factor, Biomarker, and Therapeutic Target

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Ochodnicky, P (Author) Other; Cruz C.D. (Author) FMUP; Yoshimura, N (Author) Other; Michel, MC (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Neurourology and Urodynamics

Vol. 30

Pages: 1227-1241

ISSN: 0733-2467

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 102 Citations

Scopus - 111 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-Z7M

DOI: 10.1002/nau.21022

Abstract (EN): In the last two decades, nerve growth factor (NGF), initially described as a prototypical trophic factor in the development of sensory and sympathetic innervation, has emerged as a complex regulator of neural plasticity along the micturition pathways. This review aims to summarize the current experimental and clinical evidence for a role of NGF in urinary bladder. Experimental administration of NGF elicits the states of increased sensation, urgency, and bladder hyperreflexia, resembling pathologies associated with bladder overactivity and inflammatory pain, such as overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) and interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS). There is strong experimental evidence, including the effective therapeutic targeting, on the direct causal role of NGF in rodent models of bladder outlet obstruction, spinal cord injury, diabetic bladder dysfunction, and interstitial inflammation. In humans, there are attempts to employ urinary NGF levels as a diagnostic marker in various forms of OAB and IC/PBS. In near future, use of novel experimental tools, such as urothelium-specific NGF transgenic mice or more specific low-molecular weight NGF receptor modulators, may provide better understanding of several unresolved issues in NGF-related bladder dysfunction. Moreover, successful experimental therapeutic approaches, such as NGF sequestering proteins or modified NGF antibodies, await the translation to the clinical treatment of bladder disorders. Neurourol. Urodynam. 30:1227-1241, 2011. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 15