Hamelia patens JAQC. (Rubiaceae) is a medicinal bush widely distributed in tropical areas of the American continent. It is used in Mexican Traditional Medicine for the treatment of menstrual disorders, therefore suggesting that its chemical constituents may have some effect on myometrium contractility. Physiological effects might differ due to quantitative variations in the content of alkaloids...

The expression of p16 as a tumor suppressor protein was evaluated in a retrospective analysis of paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of leiomyosarcoma (LMS), leiomyoma (LM) and normal myometrium. In this study, we investigated by immunohistochemistry p16 expression in 15 LMSs, 15 LMs and ten normal myometrium. Strong expression of p16 was found in 12 of the 15 LMSs and in three cases weak expres...

We clarified nitric oxide (NO) production in the rat uterus by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and with Fe-N-(dithiocarboxy) sarcosine complex (an NO-trapping reagent). We examined changes in NO production in the whole uterus, decidua, and myometrium (gestational days 13.5-21.5). The expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms was also examined by quantitative reverse transc...

Tissue remodelling involving extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover plays a major role in leiomyoma growth and regression, regulated by the combined action of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs). We postulated that leiomyomata express MMP and TIMP mRNA and protein, and their expression is inversely regulated during tumour growth and gonadotrophin releasing ho...

Premature birth accounts for approximately 75% of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the developed world. Despite this, methods for identifying and treating women at risk of preterm labour are limited and many women still present in preterm labour requiring tocolytic therapy to suppress uterine contractility. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of Kv7 channel activators as potentia...

Fibroids are benign neoplasms of myometrial smooth muscle cells (SMC). Despite being the most common tumor in humans, their etiology is poorly understood. Recent microarray studies have demonstrated that multiple members of the retinoid pathway are differentially expressed between myometrium and fibroids. The aim of this present study was to investigate gene expression of members of the retinoi...

Many complementary or competing signalling pathways bear an influence on the myometrium at any one time, and because the retinoic acid signalling pathway influences differentiation of a wide array of human tissues, this may be one of the determinants of myometrial differentiation during pregnancy. We have explored the novel hypothesis that the retinoids may act as important regulators in contro...

PURPOSE To report the radiological findings of a pseudolesion in the myometrium mimicking adenomyosis presumably due to air intravasation during sonohysterography (SHG). MATERIALS AND METHODS We searched magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) examination results before and after SHGs, in which echogenic foci were found suggesting adenomyosis in the myometrium, and...

Marsupials have two anatomically separate uteri; and in macropodids (kangaroos and wallabies), there is a single ovulation from alternate ovaries in each cycle. During late pregnancy, the two uteri are differentially regulated by local hormonal influences from the corpus luteum, the fetus, and placenta on one side and by the developing Graafian follicle on the other. In this study, we report st...

BACKGROUND Obesity is becoming an increasing problem in obstetric practice; it has led to an increase in the risk of caesarean delivery, prolonged pregnancy and dysfunctional labour. It has been postulated that many of these problems are as a result of abnormal myometrial contractility. The RhoA/Rho kinase pathway is involved in calcium sensitisation in the myometrium during labour and contribu...