The impact of COL1A1 and COL6A1 expression on hypospadias and penile curvature severity

Prahara Yuri,Nur Arfian,Ishandono Dachlan,Rahmadani Puji Lestari,Gunadi Gunadi,Wiwit Ananda Wahyu Setyaningsih,Firly Putri Fardilla

doi:10.1186/s12894-020-00760-w

Abstract

BackgroundHypospadias, the most frequent congenital male external genitalia abnormality, is usually associated with curvature of the ventral penis, i.e. chordee. Abnormality of darto tissue has been suggested as the pathophysiology of chordees. Collagen is one of the most abundant fibrous proteins within the extracellular matrix. In this study, we determined the expression of collagen 1 (COL1A1) and COL6A1 in patients with hypospadias and associated them with the severity of penile curvature.MethodsWe included 60 children < 18 years old, consisting of 20 distal hypospadias, 20 proximal hypospadias patients, and 20 controls in our institution from 2017 – 2020. The expression of COL1A1 and COL6A1 in darto tissue was determined by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The penile curvature severity was classified as mild (< 30 degrees), moderate (30–60 degrees), and severe (> 60 degrees).ResultsqPCR showed that COL1A1 and COL6A1 expression was significantly downregulated in the distal (0.88 (0.38–2.53) and 0.54 (0.16–4.35), respectively) and proximal 0.76 (0.33–2.57) and 0.57 (0.18–1.38), respectively) hypospadias groups compared to controls (1.85 (0.24–4.61) and 0.93 (0.17–4.06), respectively) with p-values of 0.024 and 0.018, respectively. Furthermore, there was a moderate correlation between COL1A1 and COL6A1 expression (r = 0.458, p < 0.0001). Interestingly, COL1A1 and COL6A1 were also significantly downregulated in the moderate and severe chordee groups compared to the mild chordee groups, with p-values of 0.003 and 0.037, respectively.ConclusionsAberrant COL1A1 and COL6A1 expression might affect abnormalities in darto tissue and penile curvature severity in hypospadias patients.

Highlights

Hypospadias, the most frequent congenital male external genitalia abnormality, is usually associated with curvature of the ventral penis, i.e. chordee
Most patients showed midshaft and penoscrotal hypospadias (67.5%) (Table 1). qPCR showed that COL1A1 and COL6A1 expression was significantly downregulated in the distal (0.88 (0.38–2.53) and 0.54 (0.16–4.35), respectively) and proximal (0.76 (0.33– 2.57) and 0.57 (0.18–1.38), respectively) hypospadias groups compared to controls (1.85 (0.24–4.61) and 0.93 (0.17–4.06), respectively) with p-values of 0.024 and 0.018, respectively (Table 2)
COL1A1 and COL6A1 were significantly downregulated in the moderate and severe chordee groups compared to the mild chordee groups, with p-values of 0.003 and 0.037, respectively (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Hypospadias, the most frequent congenital male external genitalia abnormality, is usually associated with curvature of the ventral penis, i.e. chordee. Collagen is one of the most abundant fibrous proteins within the extracellular matrix. Hypospadias is the most frequent congenital penile anomaly that affects male external genitalia, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 250 male newborns. It is caused by tissue underdevelopment on the ventral aspect. One of the most abundant fibrous proteins within the ECM is collagen It has been considered the main component of the fibrous skeleton of the corpus cavernosum penis and is ubiquitous within the erectile tissues of the human penis [6, 7]

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Conclusion