The solubility of collagen of the uterine cervix during pregnancy and labour

Maillot, K. von; Zimmermann, Bettina

doi:10.1007/bf00673411

Cited by 50 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…This procedure has been used extensively by investigators in the United States, Europe and other continents [2,3,6,7,[9][10][11]13,15,16,18,23,[25][26][27][28]31,35,[37][38][39][40]. Half centimeter biopsies were obtained transvaginally from the anterior lip of the cervix at the 12 o'clock position and immediately snap frozen in liquid nitrogen or placed in RNAlater 1 (Ambion, Inc., Austin, TX) and stored at -708C.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examination of cervical biopsies from nonpregnant women with a history of cervical insufficiency suggests that increased distensibility of the cervix during pregnancy can be a result of prepregnancy decreased collagen concentration and perhaps a prepregnancy increased smooth muscle content, i.e. a congenital abnormality of the cervix [27,59,60]. Some investigators have suggested that the period of cervical ripening can be divided into a 'slow' and a 'fast' phase [35].…”

Section: Importance Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mechanisms of cervical change in pregnancy have been investigated in animals as well as in humans . Critical hypothesis-driven studies of cervical biology have resulted in an improved understanding of the changes that occur in the cervical extracellular matrix during pregnancy and labor and delivery [2,3,5,6,[9][10][11][18][19][20]23,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. However, the current knowledge of the mechanisms involved in cervical change during pregnancy does not provide a complete understanding of the processes involved in human cervical ripening.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The transcriptome of cervical ripening in human pregnancy before the onset of labor at term: Identification of novel molecular functions involved in this process

Hassan¹,

Romero²,

Tarca³

et al. 2009

The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine

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Objective. The aim of this study was to identify changes in the cervical transcriptome in the human uterine cervix as a function of ripening before the onset of labor. Study Design. Human cervical tissue was obtained from women at term not in labor with ripe (n ¼ 11) and unripe (n ¼ 11) cervices and profiled using Affymetrix GeneChip 1 HGU133Plus2.0 arrays. Gene expression was analyzed using a moderated t-test (False Discovery Rate 5%). Gene ontology and pathway analysis were performed. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used for confirmation of selected differentially expressed genes. Results.(1) Ninety-one genes were differentially expressed between ripe and unripe groups. (2) Cervical ripening was associated with enrichment of specific biological processes (e.g. cell adhesion, regulation of anatomical structure), pathways and 11 molecular functions (e.g. extracelluar matrix (ECM)-structural constituent, protein binding, glycosaminoglycan binding). (3) qRT-PCR confirmed that 9 of 11 tested differentially expressed genes (determined by microarray) were upregulated in a ripe cervix (e.g. MYOCD, VCAN, THBS1, COL5A1). (4) Twenty-three additional genes related to ECM metabolism and adhesion molecules were differentially regulated (by qRT-PCR) in ripe cervices. Conclusion.(1) This is the first description of the changes in the human cervical transcriptome with ripening before the onset of labor. (2) Biological processes, pathways and molecular functions were identified with the use of this unbiased approach. (3) In contrast to cervical dilation after term labor, inflammation-related genes did not emerge as differentially regulated with cervical ripening. (4) Myocardin was identified as a novel gene upregulated in human cervical ripening.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Importance Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The transcriptome of cervical ripening in human pregnancy before the onset of labor at term: Identification of novel molecular functions involved in this process

Hassan¹,

Romero²,

Tarca³

et al. 2009

The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine

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“…In both species, the glycosaminoglycan composition is altered over the course of pregnancy and likely modulates matrix organization (Maillot & Zimmermann 1976, Osmers et al 1993, Myers et al 2009, Akgul et al 2012. This includes increased concentration of HA in the stroma and mucus that ranges from high to low molecular weight and increased transcription of hyaluronidase 2 (Akgul et al 2012).…”

Section: Relevance To Cervical Remodeling In Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cervical remodeling in term and preterm birth: insights from an animal model

Mahendroo¹

2012

Reproduction

177

148

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Proper cervical function is essential for a normal pregnancy and birth to occur. Understanding the mechanisms that take place in normal pregnancy will allow a better comprehension of the complications involved in premature cervical remodeling and lead to better methods of diagnostics and prevention for preterm birth. Unfortunately, human samples are not easily available, and samples that are collected are often confounded by variations in timing and region of cervix from which sample is collected. Animal models, specifically the mouse, have facilitated a great deal of exploration into the mechanisms of cervical function and pathways of preterm birth. This review highlights some of the groundbreaking discoveries that have arisen from murine research including 1) the identification of early pregnancy changes in collagen fibril processing and assembly that result in progressive modifications to collagen architecture with subsequent loss of tissue stiffness during pregnancy, 2) the determination that immune cells are not key to cervical ripening at term but have diverse phenotypes and functions in postpartum repair, and 3) the finding that the process of preterm cervical ripening can differ from term ripening and is dependent on the etiology of prematurity. These findings, which are relevant to human cervical biology, provide new insights that will allow targeted studies on the human cervix as well as identify potential biomarkers for early detection of premature cervical ripening and development of improved therapies to prevent premature ripening of the cervix and subsequent preterm birth.

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“…This physical change in the cervix is commonly thought to be a passive response to uterine contractions. More recent evidence suggests, however, that softening results instead from intrinsic alterations in the extracellular components of the stroma (Danforth et al, 1960(Danforth et al, , 1974Zarrow & Yochim, 1961;Buckingham et al, 1962;Cretius et al, 1966;Bryant et al, 1968;Kondo, 1972;Danforth & Buckingham, 1973;Rimmer, 1973; Maillot & Zimmermann, 1976;Kleissl et al, 1978). Indeed, initiation of cervical softening and onset of uterine contractions may, at least in some species, be under independent hormonal control (Stys et al, 1978).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pregnancy-related changes in rat cervical glycosaminoglycans

Golichowski¹,

King²,

Mascaro³

1980

Biochemical Journal

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Non-pregnant and pregnant rats of known gestational age were killed at intervals and their uterine cervices were excised and digested with papain. Glycosaminoglycans thus extracted were separated by cellulose acetate electrophoresis and stained with Alcian Blue. Glycosaminoglycans were identified by comparison with standards and by serial degradation with chondroitin ABC lyase, butyl nitrite and leech hyaluronidase. Dermatan sulphate, hyaluronic acid and heparan sulphate were identified and quantitatively determined by densitometry. The overall concentration of glycosaminoglycans changed little during pregnancy. A 3-fold total increase in uronic acid paralleled the increase in cervical weight. Hyaluronate content, however, increased 17-fold, and rose from 6% of total glycosaminoglycans in the non-pregnant state to 33% at term. Furthermore, the ratio of hyaluronate to hydroxyproline increased 10-fold. These changes are consistent with an accumulation of hyaluronate in the interstices between collagen fibres, resulting in the softening of this tissue that is seen in late pregnancy.

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The solubility of collagen of the uterine cervix during pregnancy and labour

Cited by 50 publications

References 14 publications

The transcriptome of cervical ripening in human pregnancy before the onset of labor at term: Identification of novel molecular functions involved in this process

The transcriptome of cervical ripening in human pregnancy before the onset of labor at term: Identification of novel molecular functions involved in this process

Cervical remodeling in term and preterm birth: insights from an animal model

Pregnancy-related changes in rat cervical glycosaminoglycans

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