# Understanding the role of KDM6B in parturition onset

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $38,759

## Abstract

Project Summary (Abstract)
Preterm birth (PTB) is the global leading cause of death for children under the age of five. In large part, this
high burden results from our limited understanding of the mechanisms controlling normal parturition. In mice,
one parturition pathway involves increased uterine epithelial cell expression of the prostaglandin synthase
COX-1. COX-1 then allows the uterus to produce prostaglandin PGF2α, which turns off progesterone
production by the ovary. How this important enzyme is regulated, however, remains unknown.
This proposal is based upon my unpublished data that epigenetic pathways play a central role in the induction
of COX-1 expression by uterine epithelial cells and hence initiation of the labor cascade in mice. Specifically, I
have found that mice engineered to lack uterine expression of KDM6B, a histone H3K27me3 demethylase,
show delayed parturition associated with reduced COX-1 expression by luminal epithelial cells. Motivated by
this data, my two Specific Aims will seek to identify (1) the cellular and molecular circuitry and downstream
events through which KDM6B induces parturition; and (2) the upstream regulators of KDM6B activity. Results
from these studies will provide clear cellular and molecular definition to a key regulatory circuit that initiates
parturition in mice, potentially including the identification of epigenetic components of the long-mysterious
gestation length “timer.” As such, they might open new avenues for dissecting the mechanisms of human
parturition and for determining how such mechanisms are dysregulated in human pregnancy complications like
preterm birth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10464768
- **Project number:** 1F31HD106714-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Tara Mcintyre
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $38,759
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10464768

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10464768, Understanding the role of KDM6B in parturition onset (1F31HD106714-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10464768. Licensed CC0.

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