Alterations of estrogen receptor-alpha and -beta in the anterior vaginal wall of women with urinary incontinence

Abstract

Objectives: The objective was to investigate the alterations in estrogen receptor-alpha and -beta (ER-alpha and ER-beta) in the anterior vaginal wall of women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Study design: Samples of the anterior vaginal wall were taken from 57 women, including 12 women with premenopausal SUI (pre-M SUI), 12 with premenopausal control (pre-M control), 19 with postmenopausal SUI (post-M SUI), and 14 with postmenopausal control (post-M control). The expressions of ER-alpha and ER-beta were assayed by immunohistochemistry and quantified with the H-score method.

Results: Serum estradiol was significantly lower in the pre-M SUI than in the pre-M control group (P<0.01), but the difference between the post-M SUI and post-M control groups was not significant (P>0.05). ER-alpha in endothelia, smooth muscle cells, and fibrocytes were significantly lower in pre-M SUI than in pre-M control (P<0.01), but there were no significant differences of ER-alpha between the post-M SUI and post-M control groups (P>0.05). ER-beta in endothelia and fibrocytes were significantly lower in the pre-M SUI than in the pre-M control group (P<0.01), and ER-beta in fibrocytes was significantly lower in the post-M SUI than in the post-M control group (P<0.01).

Conclusions: Alterations in serum estradiol and its receptors (ER-alpha and ER-beta) in the anterior vaginal wall were demonstrated, suggesting their involvement in the occurrence of female SUI.