Vol 49, No 3 (2011)
Original paper
Submitted: 2012-01-05
Published online: 2011-10-28
Expression of estrogen receptors in the pelvic floor of pre- and post-menopausal women presenting pelvic organ prolapse
Monika Zbucka-Kretowska, Naama Marcus-Braun, Cyril Eboue, Geneviève Abeguile, Slawomir Wolczynski, Marie Laure Kottler, Peter Von Theobald
DOI: 10.5603/FHC.2011.0073
·
Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2011;49(3):521-527.
Vol 49, No 3 (2011)
ORIGINAL PAPERS
Submitted: 2012-01-05
Published online: 2011-10-28
Abstract
The precise role of estrogen in the pathogenesis of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is still unclear, while
the results concerning the effect of selective estrogen receptor modulators on pelvic organ prolapse are contradictory.
Our aim was to test whether alteration in the expression of estrogen receptors in the pelvic floor of preand
post-menopausal women is related to genital prolapse status. The mRNA levels of ERα and ERβ in 60
biopsy specimens were measured. Significantly higher expression of ERα and higher ERα/ERβ ratio were demonstrated
in post-menopausal women compared to pre-menopausal women. Higher expression of ERα and
higher ERα/ERβ ratio were detected in all studied groups with POP, thus it did not reach significance in the
post-menopausal group. Pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women presenting pelvic organ prolapse had no
difference in the ERα expression. Our preliminary study may indicate that pelvic organ prolapse is associated
with higher expression of ERα/ERβ in the pelvic floor of both pre- and post-menopausal women; thus not
reaching statistical significance in the post-menopausal women was probably due to the group’s size. We believe
that the inevitable changes in the estrogen receptor expression over women’s different lifetimes may affect the
risk of genital prolapse progression, and might contribute to the further search for appropriate selective estrogen
receptor modulators as a treatment for women with pelvic organ prolapse. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica
2011; Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 521–527)
Abstract
The precise role of estrogen in the pathogenesis of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is still unclear, while
the results concerning the effect of selective estrogen receptor modulators on pelvic organ prolapse are contradictory.
Our aim was to test whether alteration in the expression of estrogen receptors in the pelvic floor of preand
post-menopausal women is related to genital prolapse status. The mRNA levels of ERα and ERβ in 60
biopsy specimens were measured. Significantly higher expression of ERα and higher ERα/ERβ ratio were demonstrated
in post-menopausal women compared to pre-menopausal women. Higher expression of ERα and
higher ERα/ERβ ratio were detected in all studied groups with POP, thus it did not reach significance in the
post-menopausal group. Pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women presenting pelvic organ prolapse had no
difference in the ERα expression. Our preliminary study may indicate that pelvic organ prolapse is associated
with higher expression of ERα/ERβ in the pelvic floor of both pre- and post-menopausal women; thus not
reaching statistical significance in the post-menopausal women was probably due to the group’s size. We believe
that the inevitable changes in the estrogen receptor expression over women’s different lifetimes may affect the
risk of genital prolapse progression, and might contribute to the further search for appropriate selective estrogen
receptor modulators as a treatment for women with pelvic organ prolapse. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica
2011; Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 521–527)
Keywords
estrogen receptor; menopause; pelvic organ prolapse; RT-PCR; SERMs
Title
Expression of estrogen receptors in the pelvic floor of pre- and post-menopausal women presenting pelvic organ prolapse
Journal
Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica
Issue
Vol 49, No 3 (2011)
Article type
Original paper
Pages
521-527
Published online
2011-10-28
Page views
2695
Article views/downloads
2583
DOI
10.5603/FHC.2011.0073
Bibliographic record
Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2011;49(3):521-527.
Keywords
estrogen receptor
menopause
pelvic organ prolapse
RT-PCR
SERMs
Authors
Monika Zbucka-Kretowska
Naama Marcus-Braun
Cyril Eboue
Geneviève Abeguile
Slawomir Wolczynski
Marie Laure Kottler
Peter Von Theobald