Sulfated glycosaminoglycans of the vagina and perineal skin in pre- and postmenopausal women, according to genital prolapse stage

The aim of this study was to analyze the amount and types of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the posterior vaginal wall and perineal skin in menacme and postmenopausal women, according to genital prolapse stage. Samples of vaginal tissue and perineal skin were obtained from 40 women who underwent vaginal surgery. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans were extracted by extensive tissue maxatase digestion, submitted to electrophoresis on agarose gel, and their concentrations were determined by densitometry. Dermatan sulphate (DS) was the predominant GAG, followed by chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS). In the vagina there was a significant decrease in total GAGs, CS, DS and HS in postmenopausal women with prolapse stage 2 and 3 compared to the premenopausal group, independent of the stage. In stage 2 and 3 postmenopausal patients there was a significant decrease of DS and HS compared to the stage 1 postmenopausal group. In perineal skin there was no significant difference between total GAG amount, DS and HS. However, the amount of CS in premenopausal stage 1 patients was significantly than that in postmenopausal patients stage 1 and stages 2 and 3. In conclusions, there are quantitative and qualitative differences in GAGs of the ECM in vaginal wall and perineal skin between women in menacme and the postmenopause, according to genital prolapse stage.