E-Posters-The Role of Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Menopause Status in Gene Expression of Proteins in Smooth Muscle in the Vagina: A Prospective Analysis

The Role of Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Menopause Status in Gene Expression of Proteins in Smooth Muscle in the Vagina: A Prospective Analysis - Eduardo Miguel Martinez, MD

Back to course

Pdf Summary

This study focused on exploring the role of smooth muscle in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and the ceramide sphingolipid pathway in the vagina. The research found that there was a larger amount of protein in the epithelial tissue compared to the smooth muscle tissue in the vaginal apex. This suggests that there may be higher acid ceramidase activity in the epithelial tissue due to constant turnover. The study also found that there was overexpression of the S1P3 receptor in the epithelial tissue, which aligns with the increased acid ceramidase activity. The study acknowledged the small sample size and the need for further exploration into the alpha subunit. The researchers attempted to control for inaccuracies in sample loading by normalizing the data using total protein and internal housekeeping proteins. The study only looked at acid ceramidase, but there are other ceramidase enzymes that need to be explored in future studies. The methods of the study involved obtaining vaginal apex tissue from women undergoing vaginal surgery for POP or benign reasons. Protein isolation and electrophoresis were performed, and acid ceramidase antibodies were added to the Western blots. The data was analyzed using different statistical tests to compare the volumes of epithelial and smooth muscle tissues. The study found significant results in the alpha subunit when comparing the smooth muscle and epithelial tissues. The study concluded that further research is needed to fully understand the role of the ceramide sphingolipid pathway in pelvic organ prolapse.

Keywords

smooth muscle

pelvic organ prolapse

ceramide sphingolipid pathway

vagina

protein

epithelial tissue

acid ceramidase activity

S1P3 receptor

alpha subunit

ceramidase enzymes