[Female pelvic floor dysfunction from the perspectives of genetic studies].

Currently, despite the growing prevalence of female pelvic floor dysfunction, no consensus exists among researchers regarding its etiology and pathogenesis. There is no doubt, however, that this is a multifactorial disorder with a genetic predisposition. The risk for developing pelvic floor dysfunction is determined by the interaction of multiple additive genetic (mutations and/or polymorphic alleles) and environmental factors. This review of the world literature presents a rationale for searching specific molecular genetic factors shaping the structure of the genetic susceptibility to female pelvic floor dysfunction. The pelvic organ prolapse in women has been found to be associated with the rs1800012 polymorphism of the COL1A1 gene, genotype rs1800255-A/A of COL3A1 gene and the rs2228480 polymorphism of ESR1, although this data still controversial and need to be validated in the independent samples. The systematic accumulation of data, their reproduction in different populations and ethnic groups is necessary to further generalize the evidence on the pathogenesis and the functional significance of each gene variant.

[Association of polymorphism of 1800255 COL3A1 gene with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women: preliminary data].

RELEVANCE: Collagen type I and III have a significant role in the development of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and urinary incontinence in women. The role of the COL3A1 gene polymorphism remains debatable. Some studies and meta-analyzes have found a direct correlation between genetic defects and POP, while other researchers have not confirmed this association. This study aimed to investigate the association of the 1800255 COL3A1 gene polymorphism with the development of POP and urinary incontinence in women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group comprised 52 patients (mean age 64.4 years) with verified POP and stress urinary incontinence. The control group included 21 patients without pelvic floor dysfunction. Patients were comparable in age and had at least one or more risk factors for developing pelvic floor dysfunction. Exclusion criteria for both groups were Marfan and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and a history of surgery for POP or incontinence (for the control group). In all women, saliva samples were collected to detect polymorphism at the rs1800255 locus of the COL3A1 gene. Genotyping was conducted by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: In patients with isolated genital prolapse, homozygous polymorphism (AA) had a low sensitivity (0.06) but an extremely high specificity (0.95). Heterozygote (GA) had the sensitivity of 0.35, the specificity of 0.53, and the AUC of 0.44. For urinary incontinence by homozygote (AA), sensitivity was 0.08, specificity 0.96, and by heterozygote (GA) 0.45 and 0.63, respectively. For the combination of pelvic prolapse and urinary incontinence by homozygote (AA), sensitivity was 0.07, specificity 1.0, and heterozygote (GA) 0.41 and 0.62, respectively. CONCLUSION: Given the high specificity of the polymorphism at the rs1800255 locus of the COL3A1 gene, determined by the Sanger sequencing, it can be concluded that there is an association between this polymorphism and urinary incontinence and POP in women.

[PHARMACOLOGICAL CORRECTION OF APOPTOSIS LEVEL OF CORTICAL NEURONS IN AGED HER2/NEU TRANSGENIC MICE].

Neurodegenerative changes and neuronal death are the basis for development of the nervous system aging. We investigated the mechanism of apoptosis of the sensorimotor cortex neurons of transgenic mice HER2/neu during aging, changes in the cortex function and the participation of exogenous neurometabolites (cytoflavin, piracetam) in regulation of neuronal death and locomotor and psycho-emotional status of mice. The level of apoptosis and expression of apoptosis markers (TUNEL, immunohistochemistry, Western blotting) in HER2/neu transgenic mice as compared to wild type mice (FBV line) were determined. In aging FBV mice the basal activity was shown to decrease and anxiety to increase correlating with the high level of neuronal apoptosis. We identified behavioral characteristics of transgenic HER2/neu mice and found that their low basal activity does not change with aging. Previously we have shown that in this strain of mice the apoptosis level is low, without any age-related changes, due to the suppression, first of all, of the p53-dependent pathway by HER2 (tyrosine kinase receptor) overexpression. Cytoflavin and piracetam were revealed to possess a marked neuroprotective effect, preserving and restoring functions of the nervous system (improving locomotion and psychological status) in both strains of mice. The effect of neurometabolites studied on neuronal apoptosis is ambiguous. In case of its low level it is a moderate stumulation of apoptosis via the external p53-dependent pathways with activation of caspase-3 in transgenic HER2/neu mice with high carcinogenesis level that can possibly prevent tumor development. On the contrary, in old wild-type animals we observed a significant decrease of age-dependent apoptosis level (by stimulating expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1), which prevents neurodegeneration.