Abstract:

Objective　To investigate the expression of lysyl oxidase（LOX） and elastin in anterior vaginal wall of women with pelvic organ prolapse（POP） and the relationships with POP. Methods　The anterior vaginal wall samples were obtained from 39 POP patients undergoing anterior colporrhaphy or total hysterectomy， including 12 premenopausal cases due to vaginocele or uterine prolapse and 27 postmenopausal cases. The other anterior vaginal wall samples were obtained from 40 non-POP women（control group） undergoing total hysterectomy due to benign gynecological diseases， non-stress urinary incontinence or POP. Real-time fluorescence quantitation polymerase chain reaction（PCR） was used to verify the mRNA level of LOX and elastin. Results　The premenopausal and postmenopausal POP groups demonstrated significantly decreasing expressions of LOX， lysyl oxidase like 1（LOXL1） and elastin in anterior vaginal wall compared with control group（P＜0.05）.In POP group， the mRNA expressions of LOX， LOXL1 and elastin in postmenopausal patients were significantly lower than those in premenopausal patients（P＜0.05）. There was a positive correlation between LOX and LOXL1 mRNA with elastin mRNA in POP group（r=0.936 1 and 0.689 8， P＜0.05）. Conclusions　The decreasing expressions of LOX and LOXL1 in the anterior vaginal wall may contribute to POP.

Key words: Lysyl oxidase, Elastin, Pelvic organ prolapse