Abstract:

Objective To investigate the relationship between pelvic floor dysfunction and serum relaxin H2 and expression of vaginal wall relaxin receptor LGR7 mRNA in late pregnant women. Methods Before the beginning of delivery, all women were evaluated by pelvic organ prolapse quantitation (POP-Q) scoring. Twelve women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and stage Ⅱ prolapse of anterior vaginal wall were selected as patient group, and another 24 women without SUI and prolapse of pelvic floor were served as control group. Serum relaxin H2 was determined by ELISA. Vaginal wall tissues were taken after vaginal delivery, and the expression of relaxin receptor LGR7 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results The serum level of relaxin H2 and expression of LGR7 mRNA of vaginal tissues in patient group were significantly higher than those in control group (P<0.01, P<0.05). Conclusion The increased level of serum relaxin and expression of vaginal wall relaxin receptor may correlate with the pelvic floor dysfunction in late pregnant women.

Key words: pregnancy, pelvic floor dysfunction, relaxin, relaxin receptor LGR7