- Title
- A hypothesis for self-organization and symmetry reduction in the synchronization of organ-level contractions in the human uterus during labor
- Creator
- Banney, David; Young, Roger; Paul, Jonathan W.; Imtiaz, Mohammad; Smith, Roger
- Relation
- Symmetry Vol. 7, Issue 4, p. 1981-1988
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/sym7042047
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- We present a hypothesis for a mechanism involving self-organization of small functional units that leads to organ-level synchronization of uterine contractions in human labor. This view is in contrast to the long-held presumption that the synchronized behavior of the uterus is subject to well-defined internal organization (as is found in the heart) that exists prior to the onset of labor. The contractile units of the uterus are myocytes, which contract in response to both mechanical stretch and electrical stimulation. Throughout pregnancy progesterone maintains quiescence by suppression of "contraction-associated proteins" (CAPs). At the end of pregnancy a functional withdrawal of progesterone and an increasingly estrogenic environment leads to an increase in the production of CAPs. One CAP of particular importance is connexin 43, which creates gap junctions between the myocytes that cause them to become electrically coupled. The electrical connectivity between myocytes, combined with an increase in intrauterine pressure at the end of pregnancy shifts the uterus towards an increasingly unstable critical point, characterized by irregular, uncoordinated contractions. We propose that synchronous, coordinated contractions emerge from this critical point through a process of self-organization, and that the search for a uterine pacemaker has been unfruitful for the sole reason that it is non-existent.
- Subject
- uterus; contractions; human labor; symmetry reduction; self-organization; connexin 43; mechanotransduction; emergence
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1317333
- Identifier
- uon:23393
- Identifier
- ISSN:2073-8994
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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