Original ArticleIdentifying distinct nanoscopic features of native collagen fibrils towards early diagnosis of pelvic organ prolapse
Graphical abstract
In this study, nanoscopic structures and biomechanics of native collagen fibrils in surgical, vaginal wall connective tissues from healthy women and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) patients have been examined to identify nanoscale alterations in collagen as potential diagnostic markers for POP.
Section snippets
Handling of clinical tissue samples
Vaginal wall connective tissues from four healthy pre-menopausal (pre-M) women (ages 25-41), five healthy post-menopausal (post-M) women (ages 58-73), and five POP women (post-M, ages 51-73) were obtained with their consent following the approved IRB protocols at Rush University Medical Center (ORA # 08081108) and University of Illinois at Chicago (IRB protocol #2011-1025). After the blood was removed from the biopsy sample, the bulk tissue piece was cooled to 0Ā Ā°C, and sequentially sectioned by
Nanoscopic structures of native collagen fibrils in fresh tissues
FigureĀ 2 shows the AFM images revealing the apparent morphological differences in collagen fibrils from tissues of both post-M and POP women with respect to those of pre-M women. At the nanoscopic scale, pre-M collagen fibrils are densely packed and uniformly aligned with respect to each other (FigureĀ 2, A). These fibrils bundle into collagen fibers that form the fiber network visible in Gomori staining and immunofluorescent images. It is apparent from the micrometer scale images that these
Discussion
POP is often correlated to changes in the amount, assembly, degradation and aging of collagen in the extracellular matrix of pelvic floor connective tissues.13, 35 In the current study, we identify such changes in situ at the microscopic and nanoscopic scales to derive their direct correlations underlying the biomechanical failure in POP. We have discovered that the POP collagen fibrils are thicker, stiffer, more uneven, and characterized by a small but significant decrease in D-period. Changes
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None of the authors declare a conflict of interest and commercial interest related to this work.
This work was supported by the Deutsch Family Foundation for Women's Health. Funding was also supplied by a development grant from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Illinois, Chicago and a grant from DARPA (W911NF-09-1-0378) to JDS.