Comparative Characterization of Vaginal Cells Derived From Premenopausal Women With and Without Severe Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Abstract

Resting primary POP-HVCs in vitro show altered cellular characteristics as compared to control-HVCs, which may influence their dynamic responses to external mechanical or hormonal stimuli.

Static Mechanical Loading Influences the Expression of Extracellular Matrix and Cell Adhesion Proteins in Vaginal Cells Derived From Premenopausal Women With Severe Pelvic Organ Prolapse

“…The technique for the derivation of primary HVCs was described in detail. 13,23 Briefly, human vaginal tissues were cut into small pieces and enzymatically digested with collagenase and DNase I. Isolated primary cells were cultured for 2 to 4 weeks, passaged 3 times, and seeded at a density of 350 000 cells/well into the flexible-bottom COLI-coated 6-well Flexcell culture plates (Flexercell International, Burlington, NC, USA) in Dulbecco modified eagle medium (DMEM)/20% fetal bovine serum.…”

“…11,12 Recently, we reported a derivation of primary cells from vaginal biopsies of premenopausal Caucasian women with severe POP (POP-HVCs) and premenopausal asymptomatic controls (control-HVCs) that show differences in the attachment, proliferation, and expression of ECM proteins, their integrin receptors, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), and LOX family enzymes. 13 It is unknown whether POP-HVCs will react differentially to mechanical stimulus as compared to control-HVCs. Previous studies have shown that an increase in intraabdominal pressure is transmitted directly to the pelvic floor and vagina, 14 and the outcome of this increased mechanical load is tissue stretch 15 and remodeling by inducing the expression and activation of MMPs 16,17 via a process known as mechanotransduction.…”

Elastin homeostasis is altered with pelvic organ prolapse in cultures of vaginal cells from a lysyl oxidase‐like 1 knockout mouse model

“…The application of the Loxl1 KO mouse model to human tissues, however, is limited. While recent research has shown that a decrease in LOXL1 accompanies POP development in women (Jung et al, 2009;Klutke et al, 2008;Kow et al, 2016;Kufaishi et al, 2016;Zhao & Zhou, 2012) a number of studies in humans have produced results different from our own with regards to expression of proteins such as LOX (Kobak et al, 2005) and MMPs (Atsawasuwan et al, 2008;Budatha et al, 2011;Chen et al, 2002). Thus, while Loxl1 KO mice remain a useful and relevant model of human prolapse, they do not exactly replicate the conditions leading to prolapse in women.…”

Effect of puerarin on collagen metabolism of fibroblasts in pelvic tissue of women with pelvic organ prolapse

“…It has previously been demonstrated that abnormalities with intrinsic connective tissue composed of fibroblasts are associated with the development of POP (10). Fibroblasts serve a pivotal role, particularly in pelvic connective tissue, in ECM remodeling and mechanical force resisting by regulating the balance between collagen synthesis and degradation following tissue injury (26,27), and fibroblasts exhibit different functional characteristics in the vaginal tissue of women with POP compared with women without POP (28). Even within a single tissue, fibroblasts exhibit remarkable functional diversity.…”