INVESTIGADORES
MOTRICH Ruben Dario
artículos
Título:
Autoimmune etiology in chronic prostatitis syndrome: an advance in the understanding of this pathology
Autor/es:
RIVERO VE; MOTRICH RD; MACCIONI M; RIERA CM
Revista:
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN IMMUNOLOGY
Editorial:
Begell House
Referencias:
Lugar: Redding ; Año: 2007 vol. 27 p. 33 - 46
ISSN:
1040-8401
Resumen:
The prostate is the target of many inflammatory and neoplastic
disorders that affect men of all ages. Pathological conditions of the
prostate gland range from infection of this organ by ascending bacteria
from infected urine, to chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain
syndrome (CP/CPPS) of a still unknown etiology (accompanied with
inflammation and lymphocyte infiltration of the gland), to benign
hyperplasia and cancer. Patients under 50 years of age usually suffer
from CP/CPPS, a chronic inflammatory syndrome characterized by pelvic
pain, irritative voiding symptoms, and sexual dysfunction complaints.
In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding
immunological alterations present in CP/ CPPS patients. Remarkably, an
inflammation state, in the absence of an invading infectious agent, is
established in these patients, suggesting that an autoimmune process
could be involved. In fact, specific autoimmune response to prostate
antigens has recently been reported in CP/CPPS patients. Autoimmune
response to prostate gland affects the seminal quality reported in
these patients and may have critical consequences in their fertility.
It is anticipated that preclinical studies in experimental models for
CP/CPSS will provide important insights into the etiopathogenic
mechanisms involved in this disease. We discuss here the similarities
and the differences between human disease and experimental models and
argue for the importance of the prostate gland in male reproductive
function. Ultimately, we suggest that a state of inflammation,
originally incited by an autoimmune response within the prostate,
together with a diminished prostate functionality, may compromise male
fertility.