Figure 5
Fibrillar collagen is reduced in the detrusor muscle of diabetic but not sucrose-treated rats. Histological staining for collagen using Masson’s trichrome (MTC; A–F) and picrosirius red (PSR, G–L) revealed dense staining (blue, A–F; red (G–I) in the lamina propria (closed arrows) and surrounding muscle bundles (open arrows) in the control rat bladder. Expanded unstained regions around muscle bundles of diabetic rats were noted (E, H asterisks) these were not prominent in the sucrose-treated rats (F, I). Whilst PSR-stained collagen did not significantly change in the lamina propria (closed arrows; G–I, M, N), there was a notable loss in the detrusor muscle of diabetic rats (asterisks; H, K, P, Q) compared with controls (G, J) and sucrose-treated rats (I, L). (J–L) Fibrillar collagens appear as different colours when PSR-staining is viewed under polarized light, and were significantly reduced in the detrusor muscle of diabetic (K, Q) but not sucrose-treated (L, Q) rats. The organisation/alignment of birefringent collagen fibrils (‘coherency’) was not significantly different in any group (O, R). Data are expressed as (M, O) median ± interquartile range, analysed by Kruskal–Wallis followed by Dunn’s multiple comparison test or mean ± SD (N, P–R: control n = 5, diabetic n = 5; sucrose-treated n = 3) analysed by one way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001).
