Riaz Akhtar

University of Liverpool, Engineering, Faculty Member

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Riaz graduated from UMIST with an MEng (Hons) in Biomedical Materials Science with Industrial Experience. He completed a PhD at The University of Manchester in ‘The micromechanical behaviour of bone’ in 2007 under the supervision of Dr Paul Mummery. Following this, he undertook a post-doctoral position with Professor Brian Derby on an EPSRC-feasibility study using high-frequency acoustic methods to determine micromechanical properties of soft tissue. Riaz was awarded a British Heart Foundation research fellowship (`Quantifying arterial stiffness as a function of glucose tolerance: from the nano to macro scale’) working under the supervision of Professor Kennedy Cruickshank (Cardiovascular Research Group) and Professor Brian Derby (School of Materials). He joined University of Liverpool in October 2011 as a lecturer in Biomedical Engineering.

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Advanced glycation products’ levels and mechanical properties of vaginal tissue in pregnancy

European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Jul 1, 2017

Objectives: Non-enzymatic glycation is closely associated with altered mechanical properties of c... more Objectives: Non-enzymatic glycation is closely associated with altered mechanical properties of connective tissue. Pregnancy, marked with high levels of female hormones, confers unique alteration to the mechanical properties of pelvic connective tissues in order to meet their physiological demands. However, there are few studies on glycation content and its influence on the mechanical properties of pelvic connective tissues during pregnancy. We hypothesise that the glycation content in pelvic tissues will change with a corresponding change in their mechanical properties, and that these changes are influenced by hormone levels. This study aims to investigate the correlation of vaginal tissue glycation content and mechanical property changes during pregnancy in association with the expression of a key pregnancy hormone (oestrogen) receptor, and an antioxidant enzyme, glyoxalase I. A rat vaginal tissue model (tissues from non-pregnant and E15-E18 (last trimester) pregnant rats) was used in this study. Mechanical characteristics of vaginal tissues were analysed by a ball-indentation technique while modulus and morphology of the collagen fibrils within the tissues were measured with atomic force microscopy. A glycation marker, pentosidine, was quantified by a high performance liquid chromatography. The expression of oestrogen and glyoxalase I in the tissue was qualified by immunochemical staining. The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration difference in the tissues were quantified by a biochemical assay. Results: Pregnant rat vaginal tissue was characterised by significantly lower amounts of pentosidine, higher oestrogen and glyoxalase I expression with larger creep, lower elastic modulus, thicker fibril morphology and higher GAG content than their non-pregnant counterpart. There was a negative correlation between pentosidine and vaginal tissue creep. There was a reduction in vaginal tissue pentosidine in pregnancy with an associated increase in oestrogen receptor and glyoxalase I immunoexpression. Reduced glycation was associated with increased creeping of vaginal tissue. Oestrogen may therefore play a role in the increase of the vaginal wall's capacity to stretch through glyoxalase I up-regulation and subsequent glycation reduction. The new insight of the correlation of women's oestrogen level, glycation reaction and pelvic tissue mechanical property from this study may enhance our understanding on some pelvic organ diseases.

Riaz Akhtar

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