Zinc Transporter 9 (SLC30A9) Expression Is Decreased in the Vaginal Tissues of Menopausal Women

Our aim was to compare zinc transporter (ZnT/SLC30A, and ZIP/SLC39A) expression between pre- and postmenopausal women in human vaginal tissues. Zinc transporter families are responsible for the maintenance of intracellular zinc concentrations. Zinc has significant effects on the extracellular matrix composition. Vaginal wall biopsies were obtained from seven premenopausal and seven postmenopausal women. mRNA expression of twenty-four zinc transporters was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Zinc transporter expression at the protein level was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Student’s t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare data. ZnT4 and ZnT9 mRNA expression were significantly lower in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women (mean ± SD mRNA expression in relative units, 96.43 ± 140.61 vs. 410.59 ± 304.34, p = 0.03 and 0.62 ± 0.39 vs. 1.13 ± 0.31, p = 0.02). In addition, ZIP2, ZIP3, and ZIP6 mRNA expressions were significantly lower in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women (mean ± SD mRNA expression in relative units, 1.11 ± 0.61 vs. 2.29 ± 1.20, p = 0.04; 2.32 ± 1.90 vs. 15.82 ± 12.97, p = 0.02 and 1.10 ± 0.80 vs. 5.73 ± 4.72, p = 0.03). ZnT9 protein expression in the stratum spinosum was significantly lower in postmenopausal women (p = 0.012). Zinc transporters were expressed differentially in the vaginal tissues. ZnT9 expression was significantly lower in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women.