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Review
. 2022 Feb 16;10(2):89.
doi: 10.3390/toxics10020089.

Male Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction: An Underrepresented Endpoint in Toxicology Research

Nelson T Peterson  1 , Chad M Vezina  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Male Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction: An Underrepresented Endpoint in Toxicology Research

Nelson T Peterson et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

Lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) is nearly ubiquitous in men of advancing age and exerts substantial physical, mental, social, and financial costs to society. While a large body of research is focused on the molecular, genetic, and epigenetic underpinnings of the disease, little research has been dedicated to the influence of environmental chemicals on disease initiation, progression, or severity. Despite a few recent studies indicating a potential developmental origin of male LUTD linked to chemical exposures in the womb, it remains a grossly understudied endpoint in toxicology research. Therefore, we direct this review to toxicologists who are considering male LUTD as a new aspect of chemical toxicity studies. We focus on the LUTD disease process in men, as well as in the male mouse as a leading research model. To introduce the disease process, we describe the physiology of the male lower urinary tract and the cellular composition of lower urinary tract tissues. We discuss known and suspected mechanisms of male LUTD and examples of environmental chemicals acting through these mechanisms to contribute to LUTD. We also describe mouse models of LUTD and endpoints to diagnose, characterize, and quantify LUTD in men and mice.

Keywords: BPH; lower urinary tract dysfunction; lower urinary tract symptoms; prostate.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
General anatomy of the male urinary tract and effects of chemical insults on the male lower urinary tract. (A) A general depiction of the male lower urinary tract. (B) Known effects of environmental chemicals on the lower urinary tract of either the man or male mouse.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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