The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.

wikigene or wiki gene protein drug chemical gene disease author authorship tracking collaborative publishing evolutionary knowledge reputation system wiki2.0 global collaboration genes proteins drugs chemicals diseases compound
Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 

Changes in gonadal steroid receptors in the cardinal ligaments of prolapsed uteri: immunohistomorphometric data.

BACKGROUND:The precise mechanism of uterine prolapse is poorly understood. This immunohistochemical study was performed on paraffin-embedded sections of the cardinal ligaments in an attempt to evaluate the differential expression of gonadal steroid receptors in human cardinal ligaments of prolapsed uteri compared with non-prolapsed controls. METHODS: Specimens from women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) stage III (n = 33), together with the appropriate controls (n = 25), were stained for estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha), ERbeta, progesterone receptor (PR), androgen receptor (AR) and Ki-67. The control materials were samples of the cardinal ligaments obtained from pre- and post-menopausal women with no prolapse, who were not using hormonal therapy. RESULTS The prolapsed ligaments expressed 1.5-2.5 times more ERalpha-positive cells (statistically significant in post-menopausal women not taking HRT, P < 0.001), a 3-4 times greater percentage of AR-positive cells (P = 0.004 and P = 0.008 in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women not taking HRT, respectively) and twice the percentage of PR-positive cells (statistically significant in the pre-menopausal group, P = 0.03) compared with the no prolapse group. Expression of ERbeta was twice as high in the ligaments of pre-menopausal women with no prolapse compared with those with prolapse (P = 0.02), and no significant difference was found in the post-menopausal groups. The use of HRT was significantly associated with low AR and high PR expression. Ki-67 expression was not detected in these specimens. CONCLUSIONS: The clearly discernible levels of expression of ERalpha, ERbeta, AR and PR in the prolapsed cardinal ligaments may suggest a relationship to the process of tissue stretch 'trauma', rather than an effect of the menopausal status, HRT use or cell proliferation. The use of HRT in post-menopausal women appears to offset some of the changes observed with the prolapse.[1]

References

 
WikiGenes - Universities