IMR Press / FBS / Volume 15 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbs1502006
Open Access Review
New Insights on the Biomechanics of the Fetal Membrane
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1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, 3200003 Haifa, Israel
2 Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, 3200003 Haifa, Israel
3 Trottner Laboratory for Research, Emek Medical Center, 18101 Afula, Israel
*Correspondence: Shaleve@technion.ac.il (Eliezer Shalev)
Front. Biosci. (Schol Ed) 2023, 15(2), 6; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbs1502006
Submitted: 9 February 2023 | Revised: 13 April 2023 | Accepted: 6 June 2023 | Published: 19 June 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioengineering in Reproduction)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

During pregnancy, the Fetal Membrane (FM) is subjected to mechanical stretching that may result in preterm labor. The structural integrity of the FM is maintained by its collagenous layer. Disconnection and reconnection of molecular bonds between collagen fibrils is the fundamental process that governs the irreversible mechanical and supramolecular changes in the FM. At a critical threshold strain, bundling and alignment of collagen fibrils alter the super-molecular structure of the collagenous layer. Recent studies indicate that these changes are associated with inflammation and/or expression of specific proteins that are known to be related to uterine contractions and labor. The potential healing of stretching-induced damages in the FM by mediators involved in mechano-transduction is discussed.

Keywords
fetal membrane
amnion
chorion
biomechanics
collagen
Figures
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