Interstitial cystitis (IC) is chronic, non-bacterial inflammation of the urinary bladder. Its pathophysiology is not fully understood, and no causal treatment is currently available. This study evaluated the potential use of human amniotic membrane (hAM) extract in IC treatment. An in vitro IC model was established using immortalized human urothelial cells (SV-HUC-1) by adding glucose oxidase (GO) to the culture medium to induce oxidative stress. Four groups were studied: (1) cells exposed to GO for first 24 of total 48 hours (control), (2) cells exposed to GO for 48 hours, (3) cells exposed to GO for 24 hours followed by GO and hAM extract for the next 24 hours, (4) cells exposed to GO for first 24 hours followed by hAM extract for the next 24 hours. The expression of genes and proteines related to inflammation, oxidative stress, cell junctions, and differentiation was analysed by qPCR, ELISA, Western blot, and immunolabeling, respectively. Compared with the control group, GO treatment significantly induced oxidative stress and inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect of hAM was demonstrated by a significant decrease in IL6, IL8, CXCL1, CXCL10, NFKB1, NFKB2, and CD274 gene expression, and reduced IL-6, IL-8, CXCL1, and pJAK1 protein levels. Genes STAT1, IRF9, IFNGR1, IFNGR2 and proteins CXCL10 and NF-κB p50 showed a decreasing trend. The antioxidant effect was less conclusive. While SOD2 and CAT expression increased significantly, GSS and GPX1 showed a decreasing trend, and no differences were observed for NFE2L2, NQO1, and HMOX1. hAM’s beneficial role in urothelial cell differentiation and junction integrity was supported by significant upregulation of TJP1 and KRT13, confirmed at the protein level by higher ZO1 and KRT13 expression. Overall, hAM demonstrated anti-inflammatory, partially antioxidant effects and promoted restoration of cell junctions and differentiation in urothelial cells, suggesting potential therapeutic relevance for IC.
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