Impact of Regular Cannabis Use on Biomarkers of Lower Urinary Tract Function.

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the differences in the composition and quantities of the urine peptides in regular cannabis users and non-users by LC-MS/MS analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Urine specimens from healthy control subjects and cannabis users were utilized to identify the differences in number and quantity of urine proteins LC-MS/MS analysis. Significantly altered proteins were determined by a permutation testing statistical method. Heat map, dendrogram, pathways and network analyses were performed to assess the degree of expression and potential relationships between proteins in both groups.

RESULTS:

1337 proteins were detected in both groups with 19 proteins being significantly altered in cannabis users. Innate immunity and carbohydrate metabolic pathways were highly linked with up-regulated proteins in cannabis group. Additionally, 91 proteins were present and 46 proteins were absent only in cannabis users in comparison to the control cohort. Our results suggest that regular use of cannabis is associated with significant alterations in a number of urinary peptides, with a large number of proteins present or absent only in cannabis users. Pathway analyses demonstrated an increased immune responses in cannabis users compared to controls.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our observations potentially indicate activation (or inhibition) of specific signaling pathways in the lower urinary tract (LUT) during chronic exposure to exogenous cannabinoids. Our study provides initial proteomic knowledge for future investigations on potential role of exocannabinoids in development of intravesical therapies to treat LUT disorders.

Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.