Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) including urinary frequency and
nocturia are common in aging men. Recent studies have revealed a strong association of prostatic
inflammation with LUTS. We developed an animal model of bacterial induced, isolated prostatic
inflammation and examined the effect of prostatic
inflammation on voiding behavior in adult C57BL/6J mice. Prostatic
inflammation was induced by transurethral inoculation of uropathogenic E. coli-1677. Bacterial
cystitis was prevented by continuous administration of
nitrofurantoin.
Hematoxylin and
eosin (H&E) staining and bacterial culture were preformed to validate our animal model. Voiding behavior was examined by metabolic cage testing on post-instillation day 1 (PID 1), PID 4, PID 7 and PID 14 and both voiding frequency and volume per void were determined. Mice with prostatic
inflammation showed significantly increased voiding frequency at PID 1, 7 and 14, and decreased volume per void at all time points, as compared to mice instilled with saline and receiving
nitrofurantoin (NTF). Linked analysis of voiding frequency and voided volumes revealed an overwhelming preponderance of high frequency, low volume voiding in mice with prostatic
inflammation. These observations suggest that prostatic
inflammation may be causal for symptoms of urinary frequency and
nocturia.