[Scanning of drug targets related to uterus contraction from the uterine smooth muscles by cDNA microarray].
OBJECTIVE
To screen the differentially expressed gene profile from the smooth muscles in the fundus uterus at the active stage of labor, and to provide candidate genes for picking out the drug targets related to uterine contraction.


METHODS
Differentially expressed genes of uterine smooth muscles in the corpus from pro and post spontaneous parturition and those induced by oxytocin,as well as those from the corpus and the lower portion spontaneous parturition,were scanned respectively by human full-length genetic cDNA microarray with 8064 probe sets. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was applied to testify the expression of voltage dependent calcium channel-L subtype (CACNA). The differentially expressed genes in the structure and function of the drug targets were picked out by bio-informatics to serve as candidate drug targets related to uterine contraction.


RESULTS
The expressions of 29 genes were upregulated in fundus smooth muscles from the pro and post natural parturition, the pro and post inductive parturition of oxytocin, and the natural parturition. The expression of CACNA gene in RT-PCR was in accordance with that in the microarray. Among the 29 genes, neuromedin B receptor (NMBR) gene and neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene were the genes which not only had the targets of uterine contracted medicine, but also could contract the uterine. The differential expression ratios of NMBR in the above 3 types of uterine myometrium were 6.9,11.3, and 9.0, respectively while those of NPY were 6.0,29.8, and 2.9 respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
NMBR, whose expression in the uterine smooth muscles is always up-regulated at different parturition conditions, is likely to be an ideal candidate target of uterotonic drugs.
Zhang
Wei-She
WS
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
Liang
Qing-Hua
QH
Xie
Qing-Sheng
QS
Wu
Zhao-di
ZD
Wu
Xin-Hua
XH
D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D009215:Myometrium / Q000187:drug effects*; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D018004:Receptors, Bombesin / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014590:Uterine Contraction / Q000187:drug effects*
D015220:Calcium Channels; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D018004:Receptors, Bombesin