Affiliation:
1. University of Auckland
Abstract
Drawing from both experimental and theoretical expertise, the 12 Labours vision for assembly of clinically relevant and customised representations of organ system includes the uterus. Amy and Shawn will present their work as part of Exemplar Project 3, looking at insights into the electrical signaling across the uterine tissue and the yet-undetermined pacemaking mechanism in the uterus. The musculature of the uterus is composed of smooth muscle cells, which exhibit the astonishing ability to maintain the uterus and facilitate menstruation in non-pregnancy.
However during pregnancy, they are able to remain minimally active while the baby is developing, yet produce large, coordinated contraction events during labour and delivery. Together Amy and Shawn will present results for potential mechanisms generating not only pacemaking signals in the uterus — with no explicit pacemaker – but also spatial organisation of electrical waves key to uterine function.