From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pelvic Floor Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China.
Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2020 Nov;26(11):e54-e61. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000782.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of β-catenin in the lamina propria of the anterior vaginal wall of women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) compared with the expression in the controls.
Anterior vaginal wall tissues were obtained from women undergoing POP surgery for stage 3 or greater POP (POP group, n = 30; age, 58 ± 7.839 years), with a menopause rate of 70%, and from women without POP undergoing hysterectomy for benign indications (control group, n = 30; age, 54.7 ± 7.173 years), with a menopause rate of 50%. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining were performed on anterior vaginal wall sections. β-Catenin, p-β-catenin, glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), p-GSK3β, collagen I, collagen III, MMP2, MMP9, TIMP2, caspase 3, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and cyclin D1 were evaluated using immunohistochemical analysis. Lamina propria tissues were obtained for Western blot analyses.
Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining showed that the collagen fibers were more disorganized and fragmented in the POP group than in the control group. In the POP samples, β-catenin (mean density, POP vs control, 0.43 ± 0.13 vs 0.58 ± 0.16), p-GSK3β, collagen I, collagen III, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and cyclin D1 were downregulated in the lamina propria, whereas in the control group, p-β-catenin, TIMP2, and caspase 3 were downregulated (P < 0.05 for all). GSK3β was not different between the 2 groups (P > 0.05).
We demonstrated that decreased β-catenin may play an important role in the onset of POP by affecting collagen anabolism.
本研究旨在探讨β-连环蛋白（β-catenin）在前阴道壁固有层中的表达，比较患有盆腔器官脱垂（POP）的女性与对照组之间的差异。
本研究纳入因 3 期或更高级别的 POP（POP 组，n=30；年龄，58±7.839 岁；绝经率 70%）而行 POP 手术的女性和因良性指征行子宫切除术的无 POP 女性（对照组，n=30；年龄，54.7±7.173 岁；绝经率 50%）作为研究对象，获取其前阴道壁组织。对前阴道壁切片进行苏木精和伊红染色及 Masson 三色染色。采用免疫组织化学分析评估β-catenin、磷酸化-β-catenin（p-β-catenin）、糖原合成酶激酶 3β（GSK3β）、磷酸化-GSK3β（p-GSK3β）、Ⅰ型胶原、Ⅲ型胶原、基质金属蛋白酶 2（MMP2）、基质金属蛋白酶 9（MMP9）、基质金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂 2（TIMP2）、半胱氨酸天冬氨酸蛋白酶 3（caspase 3）、增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）和细胞周期蛋白 D1（cyclin D1）在前阴道壁固有层中的表达。采用 Western blot 分析获取固有层组织。
苏木精和伊红染色及 Masson 三色染色显示，POP 组的胶原纤维比对照组更紊乱和破碎。在 POP 样本中，β-catenin（平均密度，POP 组 vs 对照组，0.43±0.13 vs 0.58±0.16）、p-GSK3β、Ⅰ型胶原、Ⅲ型胶原、PCNA 和 cyclin D1 在固有层中的表达下调，而对照组中 p-β-catenin、TIMP2 和 caspase 3 的表达下调（均 P<0.05）。2 组间 GSK3β 无差异（P>0.05）。
我们的研究结果表明，降低的β-catenin 可能通过影响胶原合成代谢在 POP 的发病中发挥重要作用。
