Figure 3.

Treatment with advanced glycation end products (AGEs) was shown to affect the expression levels of collagen I, matrix metalloproteinases-1 (MMP-1), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) in human vaginal fibroblasts (HVFs) by western blot analysis. (A) Representative western blots; (B–E) Protein levels of collagen I, MMP-1, TIMP-1 and RAGE, respectively. HVFs of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and control groups were cultured under different concentrations of AGEs (at the dose of 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150 mg/l, respectively, 48 h). Data are presented as the means ± SEM. ^*p<0.05 vs. control (0 mg/l). ^#P<0.05 as compared with POP group.