Cervical softening during pregnancy: regulated changes in collagen cross-linking and composition of matricellular proteins in the mouse.

ABSTRACT: A greater understanding of the parturition process is essential in the prevention of preterm birth, which occurs in 12.7% of infants born in the United States annually. Cervical remodeling is a critical component of this process. Beginning early in pregnancy, remodeling requires cumulative, progressive changes in the cervical extracellular matrix (ECM) that result in reorganization of collagen fibril structure with a gradual loss of tensile strength. In the current study, we undertook a detailed biochemical analysis of factors in the cervix that modulate collagen structure during early mouse pregnancy, including expression of proteins involved in processing of procollagen, assembly of collagen fibrils, cross-link formation, and deposition of collagen in the ECM. Changes in these factors co

SUBMITTER: Akins ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3080426 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature