AUTOIMMUNE PROSTATITIS - EVIDENCE OF T-CELL REACTIVITY WITH NORMAL PROSTATIC PROTEINS

Objectives. To determine whether men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome have evidence of an autoimmune response to prosta tic proteins. We examined men with a history of chronic prostatitis/ c hronic pelvic pain syndrome for evidence of T lymphocyte reactivity to seminal plasma. Methods. Patients underwent automated leukopheresis t o obtain peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We performed a recall ant igen proliferation assay to detect specific proliferation of periphera l helper T lymphocytes in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and compared the results with those of normal men. The a ntigen for these studies consisted of seminal plasma from normal donor s and men with seminal vesicle atresia. Results. A specific recall pro liferative response to seminal plasma was observed in 3 of 10 men with a history of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome compare d with none of 15 normal men. The CD4 T cell proliferative response to seminal plasma was statistically significant when compared with mediu m alone in men with a history of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pa in syndrome but it was not statistically significant in normal men. Th e recall responses of both the chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome group and normal subjects to the recall antigens tetanus tor oid and Candida extract were equivalent. Conclusions. The data represe nt the first direct evidence that some men with chronic prostatitis/ch ronic pelvic pain syndrome have an autoimmune component to their disea se. Autoimmunity is a potential etiology for chronic nonbacterial pros tatitis. (C) 1997, Elsevier Science inc. All rights reserved.