The present study tested the hypothesis that ERK activation is an essential step in the onset of labor in a rat model of preterm labor. The administration of RU486, an antiprogesterone agent, to rats induced preterm delivery 22.2±0.24 hrs after treatment. Changes in basal signaling events were studied in myometrial tissue taken from CO2 euthanized rats. Rats treated with RU486 displayed a drama...

Notch signaling plays an important role in regulation of innate immune responses and trophoblast function during pregnancy. To identify the role of Notch signaling in preterm labor, Notch receptors (Notch1-4), its ligands (DLL (Delta-like protein)-1/3/4), Jagged 1/2) and Notch-induced transcription factor Hes1 were assessed during preterm labor. Preterm labor was initiated on gestation day 14.5...

Induction of labor is one of the most used procedures in obstetrics, performed to achieve vaginal delivery through cervical ripening and stimulation of uterine contractions. We investigated the impact of induction of labor upon placental autophagy, a catabolic pathway activated in response to alteration of the physiological intracellular conditions. We collected 28 singleton placentas at the ti...

OBJECTIVE To describe the pattern of labor progression and risk of cesarean delivery in women whose labor was electively induced. METHODS We analyzed data on all low-risk, nulliparous women with an elective induction or spontaneous onset of labor between 37 + 0 and 40 + 6 weeks from January 2002 to March 2004 at a single institution. The median duration of labor by each centimeter of cervical...

BACKGROUND Mode of delivery at first childbirth largely determines mode of delivery at subsequent births, so it is particularly important to understand risk factors for cesarean delivery at first childbirth. In this study, we investigated risk factors for cesarean delivery among nulliparous women, with focus on the association between labor induction and cesarean delivery. METHODS A prospecti...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the cesarean section (CS) rate is increased in women whose labor was induced compared to those who had spontaneous labor at term pregnancy. METHODS A retrospective study was performed in women whose labor was either induced (induction group, n=497) or spontaneous (spontaneous group, n=878) at 37+0 to 41+6 weeks of gestation from January 2008 to June 2009. Mate...

  Preterm labor is one of the major causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Despite significant improvement in care for premature neonates, the most suitable and inexpensive treatment is prevention of preterm labor by inhibiting uterine contractions. The aim of this research is to obtain scientific evidence for the relaxant effect of ketotifen on the rat uterus and to provide the preclinica...

OBJECTIVE We propose that elucidation of the pathophysiology of preterm labor can be achieved with genome-scale analyses of differential gene expression. STUDY DESIGN CD-1 mice on day 14.5 of a 19- to 20-day gestation were assigned to one of 4 treatment groups modeling different clinical conditions (n = 5 per group): group A, infection with labor (intrauterine injection of 10(10) heat-killed ...