Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Sci Transl Med. 2023 Aug 2;15(707):eabj3138. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abj3138.
Pelvic floor disorders, including pelvic organ prolapse and urinary and fecal incontinence, affect millions of women globally and represent a major public health concern. Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunction has been identified as one of the leading risk factors for the development of these morbid conditions. Childbirth, specifically vaginal delivery, has been recognized as the most important potentially modifiable risk factor for PFM injury; however, the precise mechanisms of PFM dysfunction after parturition remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrated that PFMs exhibit atrophy and fibrosis in parous women with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse. These pathological alterations were recapitulated in a preclinical rat model of simulated birth injury (SBI). The transcriptional signature of PFMs after injury demonstrated an impairment in muscle anabolism, persistent expression of genes that promote extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and a sustained inflammatory response. We also evaluated the administration of acellular injectable skeletal muscle ECM hydrogel for the prevention of these pathological alterations. Treatment of PFMs with the ECM hydrogel either at the time of birth injury or 4 weeks after injury mitigated PFM atrophy and fibrosis. By evaluating gene expression, we demonstrated that these changes are mainly driven by the hydrogel-induced enhancement of endogenous myogenesis, ECM remodeling, and modulation of the immune response. This work furthers our understanding of PFM birth injury and demonstrates proof of concept for future investigations of proregenerative biomaterial approaches for the treatment of injured pelvic soft tissues.
盆腔器官脱垂、尿失禁和粪失禁等盆底功能障碍疾病影响着全球数以百万计的女性,是一个主要的公共卫生关注点。盆底肌肉(PFM)功能障碍已被确定为这些疾病发展的主要危险因素之一。分娩,特别是阴道分娩,已被认为是 PFM 损伤的最重要的潜在可改变危险因素;然而,产后 PFM 功能障碍的确切机制仍难以捉摸。在这项研究中,我们发现在有症状的盆腔器官脱垂的经产妇的 PFM 中存在萎缩和纤维化。这些病理改变在模拟分娩损伤的临床前大鼠模型中得到了重现。损伤后 PFM 的转录特征显示肌肉合成代谢受损,持续表达促进细胞外基质(ECM)沉积的基因,以及持续的炎症反应。我们还评估了细胞外基质水凝胶的给药,以预防这些病理改变。在损伤时或损伤后 4 周给予 ECM 水凝胶治疗可减轻 PFM 的萎缩和纤维化。通过评估基因表达,我们证明这些变化主要是由水凝胶诱导的内源性成肌作用增强、ECM 重塑和免疫反应的调节所驱动。这项工作加深了我们对 PFM 分娩损伤的理解,并为未来研究用于治疗受损盆底软组织的再生生物材料方法提供了概念验证。