As one of the most common conditions in urological outpatients, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) puzzles many individuals because of its unclear etiology and lack of effective treatment. Recently, immunological alterations underpinning CP/CPPS have been extensively investigated.
The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, and EMBASE databases were used to search original articles on immune mediators in patients with CP/CPPS and in experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) models through April 10, 2020. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated to summarize the differences in immune mediator levels between groups. Funnel plot, Begg's funnel plot, Egger's regression test, and the sensitivity analysis were applied to determine and visualize the stability of our findings.
A total of 34 original studies were included in the meta-analysis, including 24 studies on patients with CP/CPPS and 10 studies on EAP models. We found that TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 were the four immune mediators that elevated in most of the samples derived from patients with CP/CPPS and the EAP models. The adjusted publication bias analysis indicated that publication bias was not existed, and the sensitivity analyses showed that the results were stable.
Immune responses play significant roles during the pathogenesis of CP/CPPS by promoting intraprostatic inflammation. Our findings provide potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for CP/CPPS patients.
Cytokine. 2021 Feb 04 [Epub ahead of print]
Lei Chen, Zichen Bian, Jing Chen, Jialin Meng, Meng Zhang, Chaozhao Liang
Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China; Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China., Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China; Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China; Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui, PR China. Electronic address: .