Objective: In women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP), decreased expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF- β 1) has been shown in POP tissues. However, no studies have evaluated plasma TGF- β 1 levels in patients with POP, so it is unknown whether they are also changed or not. Therefore, we compared plasma TGF- β 1 levels in women with and without POP. Methods: Participants were 49 women with POP and 23 healthy control women. All participants were postmenopausal. We measured plasma TGF- β 1 and compared data between patients with POP and controls, and between patients with uterine prolapse (UP, n = 19) and those with a cystocele (CC, n = 30). In addition, in patients, we assessed the POP quantification system (POP-Q) stage. Results: Plasma TGF- β 1 levels were significantly lower in patients than in healthy controls. POP-Q stage was not significantly different between the UP and CC subgroups, but POP-Q stage IV was diagnosed in 63% of patients with UP and 7% of those with CC. Plasma TGF- β 1 levels were significantly lower in the CC subgroup than in the UP subgroup. Conclusion: Plasma TGF- β 1 is decreased in POP. It remains unclear whether the lower levels indicate a reduction in systemic TGF- β 1 activity, but they can be assumed to reflect reduced TGF- β 1 expression in POP tissues.
KeywordsCystocelePelvic Organ ProlapseTransforming Growth Factor-Beta 1 (TGF-<i>β</i>1)Uterine Prolapse
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