title: Direct intracellular injections for studying human myometrial gap junctions prior to labor.
abstract: Direct intracellular microinjection of a fluorescent dye (Lucifer Yellow) was performed on ex-situ muscle strips from term pregnant women not in labor. The aim was to characterize the intracellular distribution of LY to obtain criteria for an intracellular injection in whole mounts and ultimately to study the gap junctional communication between myometrial cells in those tissues. Fifteen injections performed on biopsies from ten cases showed a well-bordered fusiform shape and were considered to be intracellular. The intercellular spread of the dye into an adjacent cell was observed in three injections (three cases). The average cell dimension was 284 +/- 95 microns for length and 5 +/- 1.5 microns for width (n = 17). The intracellular injection was confirmed by light microscopy of cross sections. It is concluded that limited coupling exists between myometrial cells of women prior to labor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Ciray
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bäckström
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Roomans
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ulmsten
mesh_terms: D002450:Cell Communication; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007546:Isoquinolines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008845:Microinjections; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009215:Myometrium / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007546:Isoquinolines; C017475:lucifer yellow