Objective: To undertake a comprehensive analysis of the biochemical tissue composition and passive biomechanical properties of ovine vagina and relate this to the histo-architecture at different reproductive stages as part of the establishment of a large preclinical animal model for evaluating regenerative medicine approaches for surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse.Methods: Vaginal tissue was collected from virgin (n = 3), parous (n = 6) and pregnant sheep (n = 6; mean gestation; 132 d; term = 145 d). Tissue histology was analyzed using H+E and Masson's Trichrome staining. Biochemical analysis of the extracellular matrix proteins used a hydroxyproline assay to quantify total collagen, SDS PAGE to measure collagen III/I+III ratios, dimethylmethylene blue to quantify glycosaminoglycans and amino acid analysis to quantify elastin. Uniaxial tensiometry was used to determine the Young's modulus, maximum stress and strain, and permanent strain following cyclic loading.
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