Novel Tocolytic Strategy: Modulating Cx43 Activity by S-Nitrosation

Currently available tocolytics are ineffective at significantly delaying preterm birth. This is due in part to our failure to better understand the mechanisms that drive spontaneous preterm labor (sPTL). Cyclic nucleotides are not the primary contributors to myometrial quiescence, but instead nitric oxide (NO)-mediated protein S-nitrosation (SNO) is integral to the relaxation of the tissue. Connexin-43 (Cx43), a myometrial "contractile-associated protein" that functions as either a gap junction channel or an hemichannel (HC), was the focus of this study. Protein analysis determined that Cx43 is downregulated in sPTL myometrium. Furthermore, Cx43 is S-nitrosated by NO, which correlates with an increase of phosphorylated Cx43 at serine 368 (Cx43-pS368 -gap junction inhibition) as well as an increase in the HC open-state probability (quiescence). Pharmacologic inhibition of Cx43 with 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (18β-GA) exhibits a negative inotropic effect on the myometrium in a dose-dependent manner, as does administration of nebivolol, an NO synthase activator that increases total protein SNOs. When 18β-GA and nebivolol were coadministered at their IC₅₀ values, the effect on contractile dynamics was additive and all but eliminated contractions. The development of new tocolytics demands a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of sPTL. Here it has been shown that 18β-GA and nebivolol leverage dysregulated pathways in the myometrium, resulting in a novel approach for the treatment of sPTL. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Although there are many known causes of preterm labor (PTL), the mechanisms of "spontaneous" PTL (sPTL) remain obfuscated, which is why treating this condition is so challenging. Here we have identified that connexin-43 (Cx43), an important contractile-associated protein, is dysregulated in sPTL myometrium and that the pharmacologic inhibition of Cx43 and its S-nitrosation with 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and nebivolol, respectively, significantly blunts contraction in human myometrial tissue, presenting a novel approach to tocolysis that leverages maladjusted pathways in women who experience sPTL.