Figure 4.

Activation of PIEZO1 results in a decrease in tight junction mRNA expression in the urothelium. Rats were externally catheterized and intravesically infused with either Yoda1 (0.4 mg/kg) or vehicle (5% DMSO in saline). RT-qPCR was used to detect expression of tight junction mRNA in the urothelium from these animals to assess possible changes with the urothelial barrier. The gene expression of several tight junctions analyzed were significantly downregulated after Yoda1 administration compared to vehicle including, Cldn1 (P ≤ 0.05), Cldn8 (P ≤ 0.01), and ZO-1 (P ≤ 0.0001). No statistical differences were seen in Cldn2 or Cldn4 mRNA expression levels compared to vehicle treatment. Values are means ± SEM. Data were normalized to an average of two housekeeping genes (L32 and 18S) and statistical analyses were performed on raw data using an unpaired Student's t-test before fold-change transformation. *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01; ****P ≤ 0.0001.