This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pollard, A. J. Articles by Europe-Finner, G. N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pollard, A. J. Articles by Europe-Finner, G. N.

Spatio-Temporal Expression of the Trans-Acting Splicing Factors SF2/ASF and Heterogeneous Ribonuclear Proteins A1/A1^B in the Myometrium of the Pregnant Human Uterus: A Molecular Mechanism for Regulating Regional Protein Isoform Expression in Vivo¹

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Royal Victoria Infirmary (A.J.P., C.S., S.C.R., G.N.E.-F.), Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, United Kingdom; and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (A.R.K.), Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Drs. Alison J. Pollard and G. Nicholas Europe-Finner, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, United Kingdom. E-mail: a.j.pollard{at}ncl.ac.uk and g.n.europe-finner@ncl.ac.uk.

Many of the human myometrial proteins associated with uterine quiescence and the switch to coordinated contractions at the onset of labor exist as alternatively spliced isoforms. There is now extensive evidence to indicate that the nuclear concentrations of the trans-acting splicing regulators SF2/ASF and hnRNP A1/A1^B are fundamental in regulating the expression of specific protein isoforms derived from alternative splicing of single precursor messenger ribonucleic acid transcripts. The question thus arose as to whether these factors were also involved in regulating the expression of specific myometrial protein species within different uterine regions during human gestation and parturition. SF2/ASF and hnRNP A1/A1^B expression was therefore determined in paired upper (corpus) and lower segment myometrial samples taken from individual women at term/during spontaneous labor and compared with nonpregnant control samples using specific monoclonal antibodies. We report that SF2/ASF levels were substantially increased in the lower uterine region, and this was associated with a parallel decrease in levels of hnRNP A1/A1^B during gestation. Conversely, the opposite pattern was observed within the upper uterine region during pregnancy, where hnRNP A1/A1^B was significantly up-regulated and SF2/ASF levels were much less than those found in the lower uterine segment. The differential expression of hnRNP A1/A1^B and SF2/ASF in the upper and lower uterine segments may have a primary role in defining the formation of specific myometrial protein species associated with the known contractile and relaxatory properties of these regions before and during parturition.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A J Tyson-Capper, E A Shiells, and S C Robson Interplay between polypyrimidine tract binding protein-associated splicing factor and human myometrial progesterone receptors J. Mol. Endocrinol., July 1, 2009; 43(1): 29 - 41. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Qi, S. Su, M. E. McGuffin, and W. Mattox Concentration dependent selection of targets by an SR splicing regulator results in tissue-specific RNA processing Nucleic Acids Res., December 4, 2006; 34(21): 6256 - 6263. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. Tyson-Capper, D. M.W. Cork, E. Wesley, E. A. Shiells, and A. D. Loughney Characterization of cellular retinoid-binding proteins in human myometrium during pregnancy Mol. Hum. Reprod., November 1, 2006; 12(11): 695 - 701. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. Tyson-Capper and G. N. Europe-Finner Novel Targeting of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) Pre-mRNA Using Antisense Morpholino Oligonucleotides Directed to the 3' Acceptor and 5' Donor Splice Sites of Exon 4: Suppression of COX-2 Activity in Human Amnion-Derived WISH and Myometrial Cells Mol. Pharmacol., March 1, 2006; 69(3): 796 - 804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. Tyson-Capper, J. Bailey, A. R. Krainer, S. C. Robson, and G. N. Europe-Finner The Switch in Alternative Splicing of Cyclic AMP-response Element Modulator Protein CREM{tau}2{alpha} (Activator) to CREM{alpha} (Repressor) in Human Myometrial Cells Is Mediated by SRp40 J. Biol. Chem., October 14, 2005; 280(41): 34521 - 34529. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. A. Otun, M. W.J. MacDougall, J. Bailey, G. N. Europe-Finner, and S. C. Robson Spatial and Temporal Expression of the Myometrial Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases p38 and ERK1/2 in the Human Uterus During Pregnancy and Labor Reproductive Sciences, April 1, 2005; 12(3): 185 - 190. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. Matharoo-Ball, M.L.J. Ashford, S. Arulkumaran, and R.N. Khan Down-Regulation of the {alpha}- and {beta}-Subunits of the Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel in Human Myometrium with Parturition Biol Reprod, June 1, 2003; 68(6): 2135 - 2141. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Ramanathan, H. Zhang, V. Aris, P. Soteropoulos, S. A. Aaronson, and P. P. Tolias Functional Cloning, Sorting, and Expression Profiling of Nucleic Acid-Binding Proteins Genome Res., August 1, 2002; 12(8): 1175 - 1184. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. Pollard, A. R. Krainer, S. C. Robson, and G. N. Europe-Finner Alternative Splicing of the Adenylyl Cyclase Stimulatory G-protein Galpha s Is Regulated by SF2/ASF and Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNPA1) and Involves the Use of an Unusual TG 3'-Splice Site J. Biol. Chem., May 3, 2002; 277(18): 15241 - 15251. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]