Gap junctions are essential to the function of multicellular animals, which require a high
degree of coordination between cells. In vertebrates, gap junctions comprise connexins and …

Although individual behaviors have not been proven to have a strong influence on the risk of
preterm birth, consistent evidence suggests that a constellation of favorable lifestyle factors …

The implicit paradigm that has governed the study and clinical management of preterm
labour is that term and preterm parturition are the same processes, except for the gestational …

We have examined factors concerned with the maintenance of uterine quiescence during
pregnancy and the onset of uterine activity at term in an animal model, the sheep, and in …

Background Normal and abnormal processes of pregnancy and childbirth are poorly
understood. This second article in a global report explains what is known about the …

Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide, but current
interventions to prevent prematurity are largely ineffective. Preterm birth is increasingly …

Objective Uterine overdistention is thought to induce preterm labor in women with twin and
multiple pregnancies, but the pathophysiology remains unclear. We investigated for the first …

Preterm birth remains the leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, largely as a
result of a poor understanding of the precise mechanisms controlling labour onset in …

The myometrium must remain relatively quiescent during pregnancy to accommodate
growth and development of the feto-placental unit, and then must transform into a highly …

The mechanisms underlying the preparation of the uterus for labor are not fully understood.
Our previous studies have shown that during pregnancy, the uterine muscle (myometrium) …