Human Uterosacral Ligament Analysis: Immune Cell Analysis on Specimens Stratified by POP-HQ Phenotype

Prior work from our group established a methodology for categorizing human uterosacral ligament (USL) specimens into specific phenotypes (e.g., subtypes) using histological criteria; this "Pelvic Organ Prolapse-Histologic Quantification" (POP-HQ) system:

Using the novel pelvic organ prolapse histologic quantification system to identify phenotypes in uterosacral ligaments in women with pelvic organ prolapse

In this follow-up work we have quantified neutrophils, T cells, macrophages, mast cells, B cells, and dendritic cells in USL specimens from controls (USL tissue from women without POP) and specimens from women with POP that were stratified into the three POP-HQ phenotypes: POP-A (Adipose/Collagen phenotype), POP-I (Immune cell subtype), and POP-V (Vascular subtype). While prior published work quantified only neutrophil content, analysis of the additional immune cell types using immunostaining and histological criteria reveals additional differences between the POP-HQ USL phenotypes, and specific patterns of immune cell infiltration further support differing etiologies between the pelvic organ support tissues of women that develop POP.