Glucocorticoid signaling drives epigenetic and transcription factors to induce key regulators of human parturition

Abstract

Glucocorticoids are thought to play an important role in parturition. Two recent articles by Di Stefano et al. in the Archives and Wang et al. in this issue of Science Signaling reveal novel mechanisms by which glucocorticoid signaling can drive the epigenetic and transcriptional machinery to induce molecules involved in parturition, including the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and the autacoid hormone prostaglandin E2. These fi ndings contribute to our understanding of how glucocorticoids may regulate human parturition.