# Effects of Epigenetic Regulation in Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $237,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
CPPS is a condition that is estimated to affect up to 15% of the male population with most diagnoses between the ages of
35-45. Designated by the presence of pain in the absence of bacterial infection for more than three months, it has
unknown, probably complex etiology, which thus far have hampered efforts to determine effective treatment strategies .
The heterogeneous nature of the symptoms and the length of the disease course prior to detection, presentation or
diagnosis only further exacerbate these issues. This proposal seeks to identify defects in immune activation or regulation
that may affect a subset of patients with CP/CPPS. This subset appears to have a reduced ability to mount a regulatory
immune response, while simultaneously eliciting an exaggerated activated immune response. The defects that we
demonstrate appear to be linked to altered methylation of genes involved in both immune regulation and immune
activation. The aims of this proposal will provide definitive evidence of a role for epigenetic changes in immune cells in
patients with CP/CPPS. This is conceptually a major advance – as a variety of factors including early life stress events,
prostate infectious agents, environmental variables, all could contribute to epigenetic change and may therefore explain
both the anecdotal etiologies described in this syndrome as well as the difficulty in pinpointing a precise etiological
mechanism. Specifically, our data leads us to hypothesize that epigenetic alterations in regulatory and proinflammatory
immune pathways underpin the development of chronic pelvic pain in CPPS. In this application, we propose to validate
our preliminary findings in a larger set of CP/CPPS patients and controls as well as utilize murine models of prostatitis to
understand the mechanism driving altered IL-10 and IL-7/LFA-1 mediated immune responses both at systemic and
prostate levels. If epigenetic defects and functional deficits can be demonstrated, diagnosis and treatment methodologies
could be better targeted at correction of these chronic deficits rather than at etiological agents/pathways that are in the
past.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10122006
- **Project number:** 1R01DK124460-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** PRAVEEN THUMBIKAT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $237,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10122006

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10122006, Effects of Epigenetic Regulation in Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (1R01DK124460-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10122006. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*