Abstract:

Objective   To explore the expressions of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha(PPARα)and interleukin-1 beta(IL-1β)mRNA in the human pregnant myometrium, and to investigate their roles in maintaining pregnancy or initiating labor. Methods   Myometrium was obtained from women in the following four groups: non-pregnant (NP) (n=10), preterm not in labor (PL) (n=10, gestation range 20-35 weeks), term not in labor (TNL) (n=20, gestation range 37-41 weeks) and term in labor (TL) (n=20, gestation range 37-41weeks). PPARα and IL-1β mRNA expressions were quantified by the real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR in the women myometrium. Non-pregnant myometrium was chosen as the control, and the changes and relationship of PPARα and IL-1β in different groups were analyzed by the 2-ΔΔCT  relative quantification method. Results   Compared to other groups, the expression level of PPARα in group PL was significantly higher (P<0.05), however the expression level in group TL was remarkably lower (P<0.05). The expression level of IL-1β in group PL was much lower than the other three groups  (P<0.05), but the expression level in TL group obviously increased (P<0.05). There were no significant differences of the PPARα and IL-1β expressions between groups NP and TNL (P>0.05). PPARα expression was negatively correlated to the IL-1β expression(r=-0.767， P<0.05). Conclusion   The expressions of PPARα and IL-1β obviously change in the human pregnant myometrium. Activation of PPARα may have a role to maintain pregnancy, and IL-1β may play a role in initiating labor.

Key words: Pregnancy; Myometrium; Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha; Interleukin-1β; Labor onset