Myometrial mechanotransduction and the timing of parturition: ion-channel pathways linking uterine stretch, calcium signaling, and inflammation

Description

Han, Wu, and Hu reviewed in 2026 how the pregnant womb wall, the myometrium, turns stretch into the timed contractions of labour. The growing baby loads the wall mechanically, yet how that force merges with ion channel behaviour was scattered across fields. The review follows stretch, overdistension, hormone signals, and inflammation as they feed calcium entry, wall excitability, and contraction timing.

Han sorts the channels into direct force sensors, force-regulated coupling paths, and nearby excitability controls. The strongest human evidence centres on the sensor PIEZO1, with a second channel, TRPV4, supported in narrower settings. Normal term labour, overstretch-driven early activation, and infection-driven preterm birth share some downstream parts but are not the same process, the authors stress. They close by marking the gaps that must close before channel drugs can be judged for clinical use.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/PMC13463117