Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Reprod Sci. 2022 Oct;29(10):2885-2893. doi: 10.1007/s43032-022-00910-5. Epub 2022 Apr 25.
The contraction of myometrium is pivotal in expelling the fetus and placenta during labor, but the specific mechanism of myometrium changing from quiescent to a contractile state is still unclear. Previous studies have shown that changes in certain genes or proteins are related to the regulation of myometrial contraction, which are considered to be contraction-associated genes. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly recognized as important molecular players in regulating gene expression and many biological processes, but their roles in the rhythmic contraction of myometrial cells during labor remain to be explored. This study aimed to reveal the differentially expressed lncRNAs in the human myometrium of non-labor (NL, n = 9) and in-labor (IL, n = 9). Furthermore, bioinformatic analysis of lncRNA targeted mRNAs was performed to explore the biological processes and pathway alterations during labor. The results showed a total of 112 significantly differentially expressed lncRNAs between two groups were identified, of which 69 were upregulated and 43 were downregulated in IL group, compared with NL group. In addition, the enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) and pathways showed that the lncRNAs corresponding targeted mRNAs were associated with mRNA splicing, splicesome, ferroptosis, FGFR and NOTCH signaling pathways. Our study constitutes the first report on investigating the gene expression landscape and regulatory mechanism of lncRNAs within laboring and non-laboring myometrium using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and bioinformatic analysis. This study provided high-throughput information on the lncRNA in the myometrium of women in labor and those not in labor, to discover novel lncRNA candidates and potential biological pathways involved in human parturition.
肌层的收缩对于分娩时排出胎儿和胎盘至关重要，但肌层从静止状态转变为收缩状态的具体机制仍不清楚。先前的研究表明，某些基因或蛋白质的变化与肌层收缩的调节有关，这些基因被认为是与收缩相关的基因。长链非编码 RNA（lncRNA）作为调节基因表达和许多生物过程的重要分子调控因子，越来越受到关注，但它们在分娩时肌层细胞有节奏收缩中的作用仍有待探索。本研究旨在揭示非分娩（NL，n=9）和分娩（IL，n=9）人肌层中差异表达的 lncRNA。此外，还对 lncRNA 靶向 mRNA 的生物信息学分析进行了研究，以探讨分娩过程中生物过程和通路的改变。结果显示，两组间共鉴定出 112 个差异表达的 lncRNA，其中 69 个在 IL 组中上调，43 个在 IL 组中下调。此外，基因本体论（GO）和通路的富集分析表明，相应靶向 mRNA 的 lncRNA 与 mRNA 剪接、剪接体、铁死亡、FGFR 和 NOTCH 信号通路有关。本研究首次采用 RNA 测序（RNA-seq）和生物信息学分析，研究了分娩和非分娩肌层中 lncRNA 的基因表达谱和调控机制。该研究为分娩和非分娩妇女肌层中的 lncRNA 提供了高通量信息，有助于发现与人类分娩相关的新的 lncRNA 候选物和潜在的生物学途径。
