Increased expression of alpha-enolase in cervico-vaginal fluid during labour

The aim of this study was (i) to characterise differentially expressed proteins in cervico-vaginal fluid (CVF) at the time of preterm labour onset and (ii) to confirm these studies in human CVF samples taken from women before and during spontaneous labour.

Preterm labour was induced in sheep (n = 5) via fetal dexamethasone infusion (1 mg/24 h). CVF samples were taken prior to dexamethasone infusion (0 h), 28 h after the start of dexamethasone infusion, and immediately prior to delivery. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS) were used to identify differentially expressed proteins. For the human studies, paired CVF samples were taken 5-9 days before labour and during spontaneous labour onset (n = 7).

There was a 4.2-fold increase in α-enolase protein expression in sheep CVF during labour. Likewise, α-enolase protein expression was significantly increased during spontaneous human labour at term.

Alpha-enolase is known to be bound to neutrophils and interact in the immune response, and thus may play a role in inflammation associated with human labour.