Immune complex-mediated interstitial cystitis as a major manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus

The etiology of chronic interstitial cystitis (IC) is unknown; various factors have been suggested but none have been proven. It has several features of autoimmune disease and some authors have regarded it as belonging to that group characterized by organ-specific damage produced by non-organ-specific autoantibodies. We report the demonstration of denatured DNA [one of the antigens known to be present in the immune complexes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)], IgG, IgM, IgA, and C3 in the bladder deposits in a young female patient with documented SLE who developed chronic interstitial cystitis as her main manifestation of the disease. We suggest that in some cases IC represents a local manifestation of SLE in the bladder.