Adaptations of the Rat Vagina in Pregnancy to Accommodate Delivery

Daucher, James A.; Clark, Katherine; Stolz, Donna B.; Meyn, Leslie A.; Moalli, Pamela

doi:10.1097/01.aog.0000246798.78839.62

Cited by 36 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The vaginal wall and supporting tissues are more distensible during pregnancy, with a decrease in stiffness, or modulus, in preparation for delivery with minimal injury (1,2,4). Collagen fibrils within the vaginal wall also undergo progressive disorganisation and remodelling through the middle and later stages of pregnancy (26). Although there was apparent thickening of the collagen fibrils in this study, other research suggests that individual fibril diameter may not account for overall tissue modulus (27).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Advanced glycation products’ levels and mechanical properties of vaginal tissue in pregnancy

Weli

Akhtar

Chang

et al. 2017

European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductiv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

.Advanced glycation products' levels and mechanical properties of vaginal tissue in pregnancy.European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.ejogrb.2017.04.037 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ABSTRACTObjectives: Non-enzymatic glycation is closely associated with altered mechanical properties of connective tissue. Pregnancy, marked with high levels of female hormones, confers unique alteration to the mechanical properties of pelvic connective tissues in order to meet their physiological demands.However, there are few studies on glycation content and its influence on the mechanical properties of pelvic connective tissues during pregnancy. We hypothesise that the glycation content in pelvic tissues will change with a corresponding change in their mechanical properties, and that these changes are influenced by hormone levels. This study aims to investigate the correlation of vaginal tissue glycation content and mechanical property changes during pregnancy in association with the expression of a key

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…To further understand the observation, GAGs contents were measured and were notably higher in pregnant rat tissues. Previous studies have also noted a progressive increase in GAGs content of pelvic tissues during pregnancy and its loss at delivery (26,29). Certain proteoglycans also modulate fibrillogenesis and fiber alignment (30).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Advanced glycation products’ levels and mechanical properties of vaginal tissue in pregnancy

Weli

Akhtar

Chang

et al. 2017

European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductiv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…28,33 Our findings suggest that vaginal adaptation in preparation for parturition also extends to neural remodeling. There are several implications regarding the observed reduction in the density of autonomic and sensory axons at the end of pregnancy.…”

Section: Physiological Significance Of Reduced Vaginal Innervation Atmentioning

confidence: 68%

Adaptive Plasticity of Vaginal Innervation in Term Pregnant Rats

Liao

Smith

2011

Reprod. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Changes in reproductive status place varied functional demands on the vagina. These include receptivity to male intromission and sperm transport in estrus, barrier functions during early pregnancy, and providing a conduit for fetal passage at parturition. Peripheral innervation regulates vaginal function, which in turn may be influenced by circulating reproductive hormones. We assessed vaginal innervation in diestrus and estrus (before and after the estrous cycle surge in estrogen), and in the early (low estrogen) and late (high estrogen) stages in pregnancy. In vaginal sections from cycling rats, axons immunoreactive for the pan-neuronal marker protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) showed a small reduction at estrus relative to diestrus, but this difference did not persist after correcting for changes in target size. No changes were detected in axons immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase (sympathetic), vesicular acetylcholine transporter (parasympathetic), or calcitonin gene-related peptide and transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV-1; sensory nociceptors). In rats at 10 days of pregnancy, innervation was similar to that observed in cycling rats. However, at 21 days of pregnancy, axons immunoreactive for PGP 9.5 and each of the subpopulation-selective markers were significantly reduced both when expressed as percentage of sectional area or after correcting for changes in target size. Because peripheral nerves regulate vaginal smooth muscle tone, blood flow, and pain sensitivity, reductions in innervation may represent important adaptive mechanisms facilitating parturition.

show abstract

“…For its part in women, the urethral mucosa consists of a transitional epithelium in the proximal portion and of a nonkeratinized squamous epithelium in the distal portion [1,2]. For the vagina wall, both in humans and rats, it has a stratified squamous epithelium [3,4,12,19,20] followed by a lamina propria composed of collagen and elastin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The thickness of this tissue layer was thinner along the perineal vagina where striated musculature was not observed. In humans and rats, the outer layer of the urethra and vagina wall has been known for many years as the tunica adventitia, composed of loose connective tissue and a large plexus of blood vessels [3,4,12,20]. The striated musculature that has been observed was described as apparently adjacent to the urethral wall and semidetached from the vagina causing this musculature to be named the external urethral sphincter [1,2,24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

General tissue characteristics of the lower urethral and vaginal walls in the domestic rabbit

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In European rabbits, the distal urethra (DU) opens into the anterior pelvic vagina forming a single canal by which females copulate, give birth, and urinate. We investigated whether the histological characteristics of the DU and the pelvic and perineal vagina are different. The DU and vagina of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were cut and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome (n = 3). Data were compared by using Friedman's ANOVA for repeated measures. The walls of the DU and vagina are composed of mucosa, submucosa, smooth muscle, and an external layer. Differences in tissue characteristics of the mucosa, orientation of the smooth muscle fibers, components of the external layer (connective tissue, blood vessels, and striated musculature), and thickness of the tissue layers were found among regions. The lack of histological homogeneity along the urethra and vagina possibly reflects differences in the functions of each segment.

show abstract

Adaptations of the Rat Vagina in Pregnancy to Accommodate Delivery

Cited by 36 publications

References 28 publications

Advanced glycation products’ levels and mechanical properties of vaginal tissue in pregnancy

Advanced glycation products’ levels and mechanical properties of vaginal tissue in pregnancy

Adaptive Plasticity of Vaginal Innervation in Term Pregnant Rats

General tissue characteristics of the lower urethral and vaginal walls in the domestic rabbit

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About