title: Stem cell homing factor, CCL7, expression in mouse models of stress urinary incontinence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Animal models of vaginal distention (VD) have demonstrated increased expression of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 7 (CCL7) In this study, we investigated the expression of CCL7 in mice models of simulated birth trauma-induced urinary incontinence using VD and pudendal nerve transection (PNT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-nine mice were divided into 6 groups: VD, sham VD, PNT, sham PNT, anesthesia, and age-matched controls. The urethra, vagina, and rectum were harvested for the expression of CCL7 immediately or 24 hours after assigned procedure. Venous sampling for quantification of serum CCL7 was also performed. An analysis of variance model was used to compare the relative expression of CCL7 in each group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Urethral CCL7 expression in the VD group was significantly higher than control group after 24 hours (P < 0.01). There was no difference in the urethral CCL7 expression in PNT, sham PNT, sham VD, or anesthesia groups compared with the controls. No statistically significant difference was noted in the vaginal and rectal expression of CCL7 between any of the groups except for sham PNT. Statistically significant differences were noted in the serum CCL7 expression in the VD, PNT, and sham PNT (P < 0.01 in all) groups after 24 hours compared with the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates overexpression of urethral CCL7 after VD but not PNT. This suggests that nerve injury does not contribute to the CCL7 overexpression. The overexpression of CCL7 in the serum of mice after VD suggests a translational potential where CCL7 measurement could be used as a surrogate for injury after delivery.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Urology, Case Western Reserve University; Urology Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, †Center for Clinical Investigation, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH; ‡Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Medical Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan; and §Department of Urology, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Adonis K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Hijaz
authors.forename: Kerry O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Grimberg
authors.forename: Mingfang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmotzer
authors.forename: Zhina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Yi-Hao
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kavran
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozer
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Firouz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Daneshgari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054410:Chemokine CCL7 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D060525:Pudendal Nerve / Q000601:surgery; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014521:Urethra / Q000378:metabolism*; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014621:Vagina / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D054410:Chemokine CCL7