Dr. Erickson et al., URINARY EPITECTIN (MUC-1 GLYCOPROTEIN) IN THE MENSTRUAL-CYCLE AND INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS, The Journal of urology, 156(3), 1996, pp. 938-942
Purpose:. We compared interstitial cystitis and control urine specimen
s for epitectin (MUC-1 glycoprotein), an epithelial mucin. Materials a
nd Methods: Urinary epitectin was measured in 28 patients with interst
itial cystitis and 26 healthy controls. Ten controls provided multiple
urine samples to determine whether urinary epitectin changes with the
menstrual cycle. Results: Epitectin levels were stable throughout the
menstrual cycle. Interstitial cystitis cases had decreased urinary ep
itectin-to-creatinine ratios (mean 3.89 versus 6.38 mu g./mg. creatini
ne for controls, p = 0.0035) and epitectin concentrations (mean 1.96 v
ersus 4.30 mu g./ml., respectively, p = 0.0005). Conclusions: Decrease
d mean urinary epitectin levels may reflect a cause (epithelial mucin
deficiency) or a consequence of interstitial cystitis.