New Findings in Preterm Birth Genetics: What is the “Molecular Timer”?

     Preterm births are pregnancies occurring before 37 weeks gestation. Babies born preterm are more susceptible of complication including eyesight, respiratory issues, underdeveloped organs, infections, etc. For a while premature births have been misunderstood, but a growing concern. A study from UC San Francisco aimed to answer the unanswered question and identified a “molecular timer” that is key to understanding why preterm births occur.       A protein known as KDM6B was discovered through research in … and its function proved to act as a regulator of activity within genes in the uterus. Significantly, the KDM6B control fibroblasts, structural cells, which was originally believed to have no role previously wit child labor. In the very early days of pregnancy the timer begins ticking and sets a genetic countdown for the stages of pregnancy.      The study consists of research where methyl groups were removed from histones. In the ea...