Alterations of estrogen receptor-α and -β in the anterior vaginal wall of women with urinary incontinence

ObjectivesThe objective was to investigate the alterations in estrogen receptor-α and -β (ER-α and ER-β) in the anterior vaginal wall of women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).Study designSamples 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-α and ER-β were assayed by immunohistochemistry and quantified with the H-score method.ResultsSerum 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-α 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-α between the post-M SUI and post-M control groups (P > 0.05). ER-β in endothelia and fibrocytes were significantly lower in the pre-M SUI than in the pre-M control group (P < 0.01), and ER-β in fibrocytes was significantly lower in the post-M SUI than in the post-M control group (P < 0.01).ConclusionsAlterations in serum estradiol and its receptors (ER-α and ER-β) in the anterior vaginal wall were demonstrated, suggesting their involvement in the occurrence of female SUI.