University of Utah researchers have identified a region of the human genome that may contribute to the development of pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, according to a study published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Kristina Allen-Brady, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Utah School of Medicine analyzed the DNA of 70 women from 32 families with at least two cases of pelvic floor disorders (PFD) and found significant evidence for a gene that predisposes to PFD on chromosome 9.
"PFDs are a major public health concern for women of all ages," says Allen-Brady, research assistant professor of genetic epidemiology in biomedical informatics and lead author of the study. "Previous research has found that women with urinary incontinence are more likely to have family members with incontinence, but the genetic factors that predispose to PFD are not well understood."
An estimated one-third of all U.S. women are affected by some type of PFD, such as pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or urinary incontinence, during her lifetime. The pelvic floor refers to the network of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that keeps all of a woman's pelvic organs in place. PFDs occur when these muscles and tissues weaken or are injured. One in nine women will undergo surgery for PFD, and one-third of these women will require repeated surgeries.
Risk factors such as childbirth, increased age, smoking, and obesity may contribute to PFD, but they do not fully explain the development of these disorders. To better understand the genetics of PFD, Allen-Brady and her colleagues identified 32 families which included at least two closely-related female relatives affected by POP. In POP, the uterus, bladder, or other pelvic organ drops down and protrudes abnormally because supporting tissues are weakened.
The researchers studied DNA from a total of 70 women who received treatment, usually surgery, for moderate-to-severe POP. Genetic analysis of this DNA showed significant evidence that genes located in a region of the genome called chromosome 9q21 may be inherited together in related women who have POP.
"This is the largest collection of families with POP that has been reported to date," says Allen-Brady. "Although it is premature to suggest that all PFDs have a common genetic predisposition, our study shows significant evidence that the chromosome 9q21 region may be linked to the development of PFD in families where multiple women are affected."
The researchers are in the process of collecting and analyzing DNA from other families that seem to be at high risk for PFDs in order to strengthen their conclusions. Although PFDs are likely a disease caused by both genetic and environmental factors, further evidence that the chromosome 9q21 region is linked to PFD can direct efforts at narrowing down and identifying a gene that is responsible for disease development.
Confirmation of genetic susceptibility could provide insight into the underlying disease process of PFD and potential ways to prevent this common condition.
Allen-Brady's co-authors on this study were Lisa A. Cannon-Albright, Ph.D., senior author and professor of biomedical informatics; Peggy A. Norton, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology and chief of urognyecology; and James M. Farnham, biostatistician, and Craig Teerlink, doctoral student, both of the Department of Biomedical Informatics.
The project was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.
Phil Sahm | EurekAlert!
Further information:
http://www.utah.edu
Further reports about: > Bladder > DNA > Genetic Link > Human vaccine > PFD > POP > Uterus > biomedical informatics > chromosome 9 > chromosome 9q21 > genetic analysis > ligaments > muscles > pelvic floor disorders > significant evidence
One step closer to reality
20.04.2018 | Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie
The dark side of cichlid fish: from cannibal to caregiver
20.04.2018 | Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien
University of Connecticut researchers have created a biodegradable composite made of silk fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the complications sometimes presented by other materials.
Repairing major load-bearing bones such as those in the leg can be a long and uncomfortable process.
Study published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is the outcome of an international effort that included teams from Dresden and Berlin in Germany, and the US.
Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) together with colleagues from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the University of Virginia...
Novel highly efficient and brilliant gamma-ray source: Based on model calculations, physicists of the Max PIanck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg propose a novel method for an efficient high-brilliance gamma-ray source. A giant collimated gamma-ray pulse is generated from the interaction of a dense ultra-relativistic electron beam with a thin solid conductor. Energetic gamma-rays are copiously produced as the electron beam splits into filaments while propagating across the conductor. The resulting gamma-ray energy and flux enable novel experiments in nuclear and fundamental physics.
The typical wavelength of light interacting with an object of the microcosm scales with the size of this object. For atoms, this ranges from visible light to...
Stable joint cartilage can be produced from adult stem cells originating from bone marrow. This is made possible by inducing specific molecular processes occurring during embryonic cartilage formation, as researchers from the University and University Hospital of Basel report in the scientific journal PNAS.
Certain mesenchymal stem/stromal cells from the bone marrow of adults are considered extremely promising for skeletal tissue regeneration. These adult stem...
In the fight against cancer, scientists are developing new drugs to hit tumor cells at so far unused weak points. Such a “sore spot” is the protein complex...
Anzeige
Anzeige
Invitation to the upcoming "Current Topics in Bioinformatics: Big Data in Genomics and Medicine"
13.04.2018 | Event News
Unique scope of UV LED technologies and applications presented in Berlin: ICULTA-2018
12.04.2018 | Event News
IWOLIA: A conference bringing together German Industrie 4.0 and French Industrie du Futur
09.04.2018 | Event News
Magnetic nano-imaging on a table top
20.04.2018 | Physics and Astronomy
Start of work for the world's largest electric truck
20.04.2018 | Interdisciplinary Research
Atoms may hum a tune from grand cosmic symphony
20.04.2018 | Physics and Astronomy