Signaling during Mechanical Strain Injury of the Urinary Bladder: ERK, STAT3 and mTOR Pathways

Bladder obstruction (neurogenic or anatomic) induces strain injury in detrusor smooth muscle cells. Signaling via strain injury in other systems has been highly studied, while in bladder obstruction, it has been quite limited to a small number of pathways. In our study we have examined the effects of strain injury using a combination of in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro models, with the aim of understanding disease pathogenesis in the bladder. Using a combination of literature searches, phospho-protein screens and pathway analysis, we uncovered three pathways activated by mechanical strain, ERK, STAT3 and mTOR, with potential for changing not only the way we understand but also the way we treat obstructive myopathies of the bladder. We found that not only were these pathways activated in response to strain and distension injury of BSMC, but they were also responsible for proliferation and sometimes de-differentiation. Included herein are three chapters, published in 2006 and 2010, on the role of ERK, STAT3 and mTOR pathways in bladder smooth muscle cell proliferation and differentiation, 8 Appendices containing the first pages of other papers and reviews published during the course of my studies.Ph