In our previous study, preterm birth after pre-pregnancy partial cervical excision demonstrated abnormal wound healing with an increased muscle-to-collagen ratio at the proximal site of the cervix. We aimed to investigate whether treatment with plasma fibronectin affects the differentiation of mouse uterine cervical fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and mediates a reduction in the incidence of preterm delivery in mice. We examined the gestational period after the administration of lipopolysaccharide in mice subjected to cervical excision and subsequently treated with fibronectin or vehicle. We confirmed that the gestational period was longer in the plasma fibronectin-treated group than in the vehicle-treated control group. In addition, the ratio of α-smooth muscle actin to collagen type I alpha 1 increased after LPS injection in mice subjected to cervical excision, and this increase was suppressed by plasma fibronectin treatment. Plasma fibronectin may serve as a potential therapeutic agent to prevent preterm delivery by inhibiting myogenic differentiation in the cervix.
Keywords: Cervical excision; Plasma fibronectin; Preterm birth; Preterm mouse model; Wound healing.
© 2022. Society for Reproductive Investigation.