Figure 5.

Treatment with advanced glycation end products (AGEs) was shown to impact the mRNA expression of (A) collagen I, (B) matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), (C) tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and (D) receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) by real-time PCR in human vaginal fibroblasts (HVFs). mRNA expression of collagen I, MMP-1, TIMP-1 and RAGE cultured under AGEs (50 mg/l) for different culture times in HVFs of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and non-POP groups. The culture times were 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 h, respectively. Peak mRNA levels occurred at 4 h after AGE treatment in the POP groups, and 16 h in the control groups respectively. Data are presented as the means ± SEM (n=3), ^*p<0.06 compared to the control (blank, 0 mg/l) in their own group, respectively.