Relationship between the expression of fibulin-3 and anterior vaginal wall prolapse.

Anterior vaginal wall prolapse is the most common type of pelvic organ prolapse. Vaginal wall samples were obtained from women with (n = 12) and without (n = 12) anterior vaginal wall prolapse. No reports have been published on the content of fibulin-3 in the vaginal walls of patients with prolapse; thus, we compared the expression of fibulin-3 in the vaginal walls of women with and without anterior vaginal wall prolapse. RT-PCR was performed to measure mRNA expression and the expression of protein was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed to determine differences between the two groups of women. Age, parity and menopausal status did not differ between women with and without prolapse. The expressions of fibulin-3 mRNA and protein were not different between the prolapse and no prolapse groups. It is unlikely that abnormal expression of fibulin-3 has a major role in the pathogenesis of anterior vaginal wall prolapse.