Term labor is associated with a core inflammatory response in human fetal membranes, myometrium, and cervix

OBJECTIVE: Identify overlap of the transcriptome of myometrium and cervix in association with human labor. STUDY DESIGN: The transcriptional profile of myometrial and cervical biopsies obtained from women in spontaneous labor at term (n = 9) and not in labor (n = 9) were characterized by Affymetrix v2 U133 plus 2 arrays. Common canonical pathways and functional groups were identified by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. RESULTS: One hundred ten genes (false discovery rate < 1%) were commonly up-regulated by myometrium and cervix in association with labor and 29 genes (false discovery rate < 1%) down-regulated. Fold change in expression of up-regulated genes was strongly correlated; myometrium vs cervix (r = 0.51; P < .001), with no relationship in down-regulated genes (r = 0.26; P = .16). Canonical pathway analysis established up-regulation of inflammatory pathway signaling, with greatest increases in cellular movement and immune response gene ontology groups. CONCLUSION: Gestational tissues exhibit a core inflammatory response in association with human parturition, with pathways regulating cellular trafficking dominating