Effects of space flight on the immunohistochemical demonstration of connexin 26 and connexin 43 in the postpartum uterus of rats

in Reproduction
Authors:
H. W. Burden
Search for other papers by H. W. Burden in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
J. Zary
Search for other papers by J. Zary in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
J. R. Alberts
Search for other papers by J. R. Alberts in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.1160229
Volume/Issue:
Volume 116: Issue 2
Page Range:
229–234
Article Type:
Research Article
Online Publication Date:
Jul 1999
Free access

Sign up for journal news

The effect of space flight in a National Aeronautics and Space Administration shuttle was studied in pregnant rats. Rats were launched on day 11 of gestation and recovered on day 20 of gestation. Pregnancy was allowed to proceed to term and rats delivered vaginally on days 22–23, although flight animals required more labour contractions to complete the delivery process. Pups were placed with foster dams and connexin 26 and 43 were examined in the uterus of flight animals approximately 3 h after delivery. Space flight did not affect uterine connexin 26, localized primarily in epithelial cells of the endometrium, but decreased connexin 43, the major gap junction protein in the myometrium. It is suggested that decreased connexin 43 alters synchronization and coordination of labour contractions, resulting in a requirement for more contractions to complete the delivery process.

Reproduction is committed to supporting researchers in demonstrating the impact of their articles published in the journal.

The two types of article metrics we measure are (i) more traditional full-text views and pdf downloads, and (ii) Altmetric data, which shows the wider impact of articles in a range of non-traditional sources, such as social media.

More information is on the Reasons to publish page.

Sept 2018 onwards Past Year Past 30 Days
Full Text Views 143 34 5
PDF Downloads 81 24 3

 

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Print ISSN:
1470-1626
Online ISSN:
1741-7899