Figure 7. Proposed model for the role of H3K27me3 dynamics in pregnancy and parturition.

In early gestation, target gene accrual of H3K27me3 in DSCs inhibits the expression of genes that would otherwise promote uterine contractility and thus PTL; in late gestation, genome-wide H3K27 demethylation in DSCs, mediated by KDM6A and KDM6B, leads to target gene reexpression and decidual/fibroblast activation and thus in turn the generation of signals that promote myometrial contractility and labor entry.