# Prevention of Urethral and Anal Sphincters Dysfunction with an Acellular Biomaterial

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $37,835

## Abstract

Project Summary
A quarter of the United States female population is affected by pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). They include pelvic
organ prolapse, and urinary and fecal incontinence. The most prevalent PFDs include stress urinary incontinence
with an estimated rate of 15-17%, followed by fecal incontinence with 9.4% prevalence. PFDs represent a major
public health issue given their high prevalence, negative impact on quality of life and associated economic
burden. Maternal birth injuries to the external urethral sphincter (EUS) and external anal sphincter (EAS) are a
critical event in the pathogenesis of PFDs. While vaginal childbirth doubles the risk for developing PFDs
compared to elective cesarean section, this last mode of delivery is associated with high risks of morbidity and
costs. Although, there is a continuous progress in the treatment of both conditions, currently available standards
approaches continue to be delayed and compensatory, as they do not directly target the pathways responsible
for muscle dysfunction, and in consequence do not address the etiology of the disease development.
 Cell based therapies have resulted in poor cell survival, increase connective tissue layer thickness,
preventing myofiber regeneration. The Christman lab has previously demonstrated that an acellular, pro-
regenerative skeletal muscle extracellular matrix (mECM) hydrogel, promotes muscle regeneration by increasing
vascularization, enhancing the recruitment and differentiation of muscle progenitors and reducing cell death.
Therefore, the proposed research hypothesize that mECM hydrogel promotes EUS and EAS regeneration and
prevents long-term sphincteric muscle dysfunction following birth injury. To test this hypothesis, we aim to:
 Aim 1: Evaluate the efficacy of mECM on the myogenic regenerative pathways and on the functional
recovery of EUS following birth injury.
 Aim 2: Evaluate the impact of mECM on the myogenic regenerative pathways and on the functional
recovery of EAS following birth injury.
 This project will use a diverse multi-scale tools, including biomaterial fabrication techniques, in vivo small
animal models, in vivo pressure measurements and ex vivo muscle force generation, immunohistochemistry,
and bioinformatics. These techniques are essential for accomplishing the proposed aims and develop the PI for
a career in scientific research. With women giving birth every day, the incidence of PFDs increases, being
expected to increase by 43 million by 2050. In conclusion, this research has the potential to reduce this extreme
outcome through mechanistic understanding of minimally invasive, injectable, low cost, easily fabricated
decellularized material.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10020187
- **Project number:** 5F31HD098007-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Pamela Duran
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $37,835
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10020187

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10020187, Prevention of Urethral and Anal Sphincters Dysfunction with an Acellular Biomaterial (5F31HD098007-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10020187. Licensed CC0.

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