Relationship with melanocortin, oxytocin, androgen receptor level in vaginal tissue and sexual functions

ABSTRACT RELATIONSHIP WITH MELANOCORTIN, OXYTOCIN, ANDROGEN RECEPTOR LEVEL IN VAGINAL TISSUE AND SEXUAL FUNCTIONS Sexuality can be defined as a private life with biopsychosocial aspects determined by social rules, value judgments and taboos, including sexual satisfaction and the harmonious coexistence of two people. Research on female sexual function underlines the lack of knowledge about the functional anatomy and function of the vagina, and these considerations emphasize the role of the human vagina not as a passive conduit but rather as a clinically contractile organ of women's physical receptivity and sexual response. Peripheral neurochemical pathways involved in the control of female sexual responses are largely unknown and uncharacterized. Clinical studies have uncovered a number of potential neurotransmitter candidates that may include the control of female sexual response. Melanocortin and oxytocinergic neuronal systems and androgenic pathways are thought to play crucial roles in regulating female sexual desire and arousal. In line with this information, we aimed to investigate the levels of melanocortin, oxytocin and androgen receptors in the distal anterior vaginal tissue and its relation with sexual functions. In the study group, patients who were operated with the diagnosis of cystocele and vaginoplasty request; Anterior vaginal tissues that were removed by colporrhaphy anterior operation and were not routinely sent for pathological examination were included, and the analysis of melanocortin, androgen and oxytocin receptors in the patients' vaginal tissue was investigated by immunohistochemical method. For the evaluation of sexual functions, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) scale was filled in by the patients before the operation and the results were recorded. Mann Witney U and Student's t test were used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was evaluated at the p<0.05 level. In the immunohistochemical evaluation of the anterior distal vagina, Melanocortin receptor, cytoplasmic staining; detected in squamous epithelium. Oxytocin receptor, cytoplasmic and membranous staining; In muscle tissue, stromal cells, vascular endothelial cells, Androgen receptor was nuclear stained and detected in stromal and vascular endothelial cells. There was no significant difference in terms of melanocortin receptor and androgen receptor staining intensity, FSFI sub-dimensions and total score. When the FSFI scores were compared, the desire, arousal, orgasm and FSFI total scores of those with Oxytocin receptor + 2 staining were found to be significantly higher than those with + 1staining. As a result, it can be thought that oxytocin receptor density in the distal anterior vagina is related to sexual functions. Keywords: Sexual function, vagina, melanocortin, androgen, oxytocin, immunohistochemistry, FSFI.