title: Expression of TβR-2, Smad3 and Smad7 in the vaginal anterior wall of postpartum rats with stress urinary incontinence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study is to quantify and evaluate the expression of several important proteins in TGF-β1/Smad pathway in the anterior vaginal wall in postpartum rats with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) female rats were randomized into three groups: blank group (n = 10), control group (n = 10) and SUI group (n = 20). Rats in blank group were non-pregnant, while rats in the control and SUI groups underwent normal parturition and normal parturition plus immediate postpartum vaginal balloon dilation, respectively. 1 week after dilation, a sneezing experiment and pad test were performed and the anterior vaginal wall was collected. The histological changes of the anterior vaginal wall were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the expression of TβR-2, Smad3 and Smad7 in the anterior vaginal wall was detected by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HE staining showed that collagen was more fragmented, sparse and disorganized in the SUI group compared with the control and blank groups. Compared with the blank group, the expression of TβR-2 and Smad7 protein was significantly increased in the vaginal anterior wall in the control and SUI groups (P < 0.05), while their levels in the SUI group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Expression of Smad3 protein in the anterior vaginal wall of SUI rats was significantly decreased compared with the blank and control groups (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dysregulation of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway may involve in the pathogenesis of SUI.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Major Obstetrics Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510150, China.
authors.forename: Hailan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D000077294:Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051900:Smad3 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051906:Smad7 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014621:Vagina / Q000293:injuries / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta; D051900:Smad3 Protein; C497787:Smad3 protein, rat; D051906:Smad7 Protein; C497808:Smad7 protein, rat; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000077294:Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II