Clinical Significance of JAM-2 Expression in the Vaginal Wall Tissues of Patients With Pelvic Organ Prolapse

This study aimed to elucidate the roles of junctional adhesion molecule 2 (JAM-2), collagen I and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) in the pathogenesis of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and explore their potential as diagnostic markers. We examined 82 POP patients and 64 controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) to analyse protein and gene expression levels of JAM-2, Collagen I and MMP-2. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated their diagnostic efficacy, with correlation analyses linking molecular markers to POP severity based on POP-Q grades. Our study found no significant differences in age, BMI and vaginal parity between POP patients and controls. Molecular analyses revealed significant alterations in the expression levels of JAM-2, Collagen I and MMP-2 in POP patients. Specifically, there was a marked decrease in JAM-2 and collagen I levels, accompanied by an increase in MMP-2 expression, indicating a disruption in the balance between tissue synthesis and degradation. ROC analysis demonstrated the significant discriminative power of these markers, with substantial area under the curve (AUC) values for diagnosing POP. Correlation analysis further showed a significant association between the expression of JAM-2, Collagen I and MMP-2 and the clinical severity of POP, as indicated by POP-Q grades. Our findings revealed the significant changes in the expression of JAM-2, Collagen I and MMP-2 that may contribute to the POP pathogenesis. The diagnostic potential of these markers was substantiated, suggesting their utility in developing noninvasive diagnostic tools for POP.