Uterine transcriptomes of bacteria-induced and ovariectomy-induced preterm labor in mice are characterized by differential expression of arachidonate metabolism genes

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify changes in gene expression that are associated with preterm labor induced by either bacteria or ovariectomy. Study design: Pregnant mice (14.5 days of gestation) were allocated to: (1) intrauterine injection of heat-inactivated Escherichia coli; (2) media alone; (3) ovariectomy; or (4) sham operation. The uterine transcriptome was studied with photolithographic, very short oligonucleotide-based microarrays, and arachidonate metabolism genes were assayed with quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Significance was determined by analysis of variance. Results: Microarray-based gene expression changes in the arachidonate metabolism pathway are associated globally with bacteria-induced preterm labor (P <= .0031) and ovariectomy-induced preterm, labor (P <= .00036). Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction measurements demonstrated that bacteria-induced preterm labor substantially increased the expression of genes involved in prostaglandin synthesis, In contrast, ovariectomy-induced preterm labor increased the expression of genes involved in lipoxin, leukotriene, and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid synthesis. Conclusion: Bacteria-induced and ovariectomy-induced preterm labor each express a different balance of genes that are required for the synthesis of prostaglandins, lipoxins, leukotrienes, and hydroxycicosatetraenoic acids. (c) 2006 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.