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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Feb 19;21(6):353–361. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2010.01.011

Table 1.

Distinct Features During Phases of Cervical Remodeling

Softening Ripening/Dilation Postpartum Repair

  • Slow, progressive phase

  • ↑ Progesterone function

  • ↓ Estrogen levels

  • Changes in collagen structure (↓ cross-linking, ↑ solubility)

  • ↑ Tissue growth

  • ↑ Epithelial repair and protective factors (Tff1, Spink 5)

  • ↓ Tensile strength

  • Rapid phases

  • ↓ Progesterone function

  • ↑ Estrogen levels

  • ↑ Tissue hydration

  • ↑ high MW Hyaluronan

  • Maximal ↓ of tensile strength

  • ↑ Tissue monocytes

  • ↑ Vascularization

  • ↑ Synthesis of ECM molecules

  • ↑ Metabolism of high MW HA to low MW HA

  • ↑ Matricellular proteins

  • ↑ Proinflammatory gene expression

  • ↑ Neutrophils

  • Activation of M1 and M2 macrophages