Roles of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, p53 and p21 in pathogenesis of pelvic organ prolapse

The aim of this study is to compare the levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), p53 and p21 between pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and control groups in order to evaluate their roles in pathogenesis of POP, and to find out the relationship among these proteins. Through the year of 2002, uterosacral ligaments were obtained from 20 prolapsus and 24 non-prolapsus hysterectomized uteruses. ER, PR, p53, and p21 proteins were extracted by Western blot analysis and relative levels of proteins were compared by Student t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All patients were postmenopausal and had never taken hormone replacement therapy. ER, PR, p53, and p21 were significantly lower in the study than control group (p < 0.0001). Positive correlations were found among all proteins in the prolapse group. Further researches are needed to elucidate the interrelationship among these proteins and their precise roles in pathogenesis of POP.