Our aim was to investigate differences in gene expression in bladder tissues between cystitis glandularis (CG) patients and healthy controls. Subsequent RNA was isolated from urinary bladder samples from CG patients and healthy controls, followed by RNA sequencing analysis. There were 4263 differentially expressed genes in urinary bladder between CG patients and controls, and 8 genes were verified with real-time PCR, Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that 25 signaling pathways were upregulated in CG patients, and 17 signaling pathways were found upregulated in healthy controls. The mRNA expression levels of the indicated genes, including CCND1, CCNA1, EGFR, AR, CX3CL1, CXCL6, and CXCL1, were significantly increased in urinary bladder from CG and bladder cancer (BC) patients compared with healthy controls, while TP53 was decreased. CX3CL1, CXCL6, and CXCL1 concentrations in peripheral blood from CG and BC patients were significantly increased compared with healthy controls. The protein expression levels of CCND1, EGFR, and AR were significantly increased in urinary bladder from CG and BC patients compared with healthy controls. In conclusion, the gene expression profile of CG patients has established a foundation to study the gene mechanism of CG and BC progression.
Keywords: bladder cancer; cystitis glandularis; gene expression; signaling pathway.