Steven Marcos

• BSc Biomedical Sciences
• Acetylation of HSP20 and lysine acetylases (KATs) in the human myometrium

Preterm birth is a worldwide problem, approximately 15 million babies are born preterm every year. Research is being conducted to understand more about the contraction of the myometrium inside the uterus. In my project I looked into the small heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) and its acetylation. I observed that in pregnant myometrium higher levels of acetylated HSP20 were found in comparison with non-pregnant myometrium. Phosphorylation of HSP20 has already been implicated in keeping the myometrium in a relaxed state, and it may be that the acetylation of HSP20 may work in a similar way by keeping the myometrium in a quiescent state prior to labour.

Funding source: Society of Biology