1 Blencowe, H. et al. National, regional, and worldwide estimates of preterm birth rates in the year 2010 with time trends since 1990 for selected countries: a systematic analysis and implications. The Lancet 379, 2162-2172, doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60820-4 (2012).
2 Romero, R., Dey, S. K. & Fisher, S. J. Preterm labor: one syndrome, many causes. Science 345, 760-765, doi:10.1126/science.1251816 (2014).
3 Chang, E. Y., Zhang, J., Sullivan, S., Newman, R. & Singh, I. N-acetylcysteine attenuates the maternal and fetal proinflammatory response to intrauterine LPS injection in an animal model for preterm birth and brain injury. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 24, 732-740, doi:10.3109/14767058.2010.528089 (2011).
4 Yorifuji, T. et al. Trends of preterm birth and low birth weight in Japan: a one hospital-based study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 12, 162, doi:10.1186/1471-2393-12-162 (2012).
5 Shapiro-Mendoza, C. K. et al. CDC Grand Rounds: Public Health Strategies to Prevent Preterm Birth. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 65, 826-830, doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6532a4 (2016).
6 Goldenberg, R. L., Hauth, J. C. & Andrews, W. W. Intrauterine infection and preterm delivery. N Engl J Med 342, 1500-1507, doi:10.1056/NEJM200005183422007 (2000).
7 Romero, R. et al. Inflammation in preterm and term labour and delivery. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med 11, 317-326, doi:10.1016/j.siny.2006.05.001 (2006).
8 Cappelletti, M., Della Bella, S., Ferrazzi, E., Mavilio, D. & Divanovic, S. Inflammation and preterm birth. J Leukoc Biol 99, 67-78, doi:10.1189/jlb.3MR0615-272RR (2016).
9 Hung, T. H. et al. Micronized progesterone pretreatment affects the inflammatory response of human gestational tissues and the cervix to lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Placenta 57, 1-8, doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2017.05.013 (2017).
10 Liu, W. et al. Hydrogen Sulfide Delays LPS-Induced Preterm Birth in Mice via Anti-Inflammatory Pathways. PLoS One 11, e0152838, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152838 (2016).
11 Chang, E. Y., Zhang, J., Sullivan, S., Newman, R. & Singh, I. N-acetylcysteine prevents preterm birth by attenuating the LPS-induced expression of contractile associated proteins in an animal model. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 25, 2395-2400, doi:10.3109/14767058.2012.697942 (2012).
12 Kalagiri, R. R. et al. Inflammation in Complicated Pregnancy and Its Outcome. Am J Perinatol 33, 1337-1356, doi:10.1055/s-0036-1582397 (2016).
13 Edey, L. F. et al. The Local and Systemic Immune Response to Intrauterine LPS in the Prepartum Mouse. Biol Reprod 95, 125, doi:10.1095/biolreprod.116.143289 (2016).
14 Ng, P. Y., Ireland, D. J. & Keelan, J. A. Drugs to block cytokine signaling for the prevention and treatment of inflammation-induced preterm birth. Front Immunol 6, 166, doi:10.3389/fimmu.2015.00166 (2015).
15 Takeda, K., Noguchi, T., Naguro, I. & Ichijo, H. Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 in stress and immune response. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 48, 199-225, doi:10.1146/annurev.pharmtox.48.113006.094606 (2008).
16 Arthur, J. S. & Ley, S. C. Mitogen-activated protein kinases in innate immunity. Nat Rev Immunol 13, 679-692, doi:10.1038/nri3495 (2013).
17 Goldstein, D. M., Kuglstatter, A., Lou, Y. & Soth, M. J. Selective p38alpha inhibitors clinically evaluated for the treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders. J Med Chem 53, 2345-2353, doi:10.1021/jm9012906 (2010).
18 Bogoyevitch, M. A., Ngoei, K. R., Zhao, T. T., Yeap, Y. Y. & Ng, D. C. c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling: recent advances and challenges. Biochim Biophys Acta 1804, 463-475, doi:10.1016/j.bbapap.2009.11.002 (2010).
19 Pirianov, G. et al. Specific inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase delays preterm labour and reduces mortality. Reproduction 150, 269-277, doi:10.1530/REP-15-0258 (2015).
20 Shoji, T. et al. Involvement of p38 MAP kinase in lipopolysaccharide-induced production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandin E(2) in human choriodecidua. J Reprod Immunol 75, 82-90, doi:10.1016/j.jri.2007.05.002 (2007).
21 Fujino, G. et al. Thioredoxin and TRAF family proteins regulate reactive oxygen species-dependent activation of ASK1 through reciprocal modulation of the N-terminal homophilic interaction of ASK1. Mol Cell Biol 27, 8152-8163, doi:10.1128/MCB.00227-07 (2007).
22 Tobiume, K. et al. ASK1 is required for sustained activations of JNK/p38 MAP kinases and apoptosis. Embo Reports 2, 222-228, doi:10.1093/embo-reports/kve046 (2001).
23 Kawarazaki, Y., Ichijo, H. & Naguro, I. Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 as a therapeutic target. Expert Opin Ther Targets 18, 651-664, doi:10.1517/14728222.2014.896903 (2014).
24 Matsuzawa, A. et al. ROS-dependent activation of the TRAF6-ASK1-p38 pathway is selectively required for TLR4-mediated innate immunity. Nat Immunol 6, 587-592, doi:10.1038/ni1200 (2005).
25 Menon, R. Oxidative stress damage as a detrimental factor in preterm birth pathology. Front Immunol 5, 567, doi:10.3389/fimmu.2014.00567 (2014).
26 Buhimschi, I. A., Buhimschi, C. S. & Weiner, C. P. Protective effect of N-acetylcysteine against fetal death and preterm labor induced by maternal inflammation. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 188, 203-208, doi:10.1067/mob.2003.112 (2003).
27 Menon, R. et al. Senescence of primary amniotic cells via oxidative DNA damage. PLoS One 8, e83416, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083416 (2013).
28 Schuster, S. & Feldstein, A. E. NASH: Novel therapeutic strategies targeting ASK1 in NASH. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 14, 329-330, doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2017.42 (2017).
29 Lin, J. H., Zhang, J. J., Lin, S. L. & Chertow, G. M. Design of a phase 2 clinical trial of an ASK1 inhibitor, GS-4997, in patients with diabetic kidney disease. Nephron 129, 29-33, doi:10.1159/000369152 (2015).
30 Mizukami, J. et al. ASK1 promotes the contact hypersensitivity response through IL-17 production. Sci Rep 4, 4714, doi:10.1038/srep04714 (2014).
31 Yamashita, A. et al. Increased tissue levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents pathological preterm birth. Sci Rep 3, 3113, doi:10.1038/srep03113 (2013).
32 Elovitz, M. A. & Mrinalini, C. Animal models of preterm birth. Trends Endocrinol Metab 15, 479-487, doi:10.1016/j.tem.2004.10.009 (2004).
33 Iriyama, T. et al. ASK1 and ASK2 differentially regulate the counteracting roles of apoptosis and inflammation in tumorigenesis. EMBO J 28, 843-853, doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.32 (2009).
34 Tobiume, K., Saitoh, M. & Ichijo, H. Activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 by the stress-induced activating phosphorylation of pre-formed oligomer. J Cell Physiol 191, 95-104, doi:10.1002/jcp.10080 (2002).
35 Saitoh, M. et al. Mammalian thioredoxin is a direct inhibitor of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase (ASK) 1. Embo Journal 17, 2596-2606, doi:DOI 10.1093/emboj/17.9.2596 (1998).
36 Fujisawa, T. et al. The ASK1-specific inhibitors K811 and K812 prolong survival in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Hum Mol Genet 25, 245-253, doi:10.1093/hmg/ddv467 (2016).
37 Amos, L. A. et al. ASK1 inhibitor treatment suppresses p38/JNK signalling with reduced kidney inflammation and fibrosis in rat crescentic glomerulonephritis. J Cell Mol Med 22, 4522-4533, doi:10.1111/jcmm.13705 (2018).
38 Ledingham, M.-A. Matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 and their inhibitors are produced by the human uterine cervix but their secretion is not regulated by nitric oxide donors Human Reproduction (1999).
39 Lim, S. et al. Nuclear factor kappa B activation occurs in the amnion prior to labour onset and modulates the expression of numerous labour associated genes. PLoS One 7, e34707, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034707 (2012).
40 Gonzalez, J. M., Franzke, C. W., Yang, F., Romero, R. & Girardi, G. Complement activation triggers metalloproteinases release inducing cervical remodeling and preterm birth in mice. Am J Pathol 179, 838-849, doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.04.024 (2011).
41 Chaemsaithong, P. et al. Comparison of rapid MMP-8 and interleukin-6 point-of-care tests to identify intra-amniotic inflammation/infection and impending preterm delivery in patients with preterm labor and intact membranes(). J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 31, 228-244, doi:10.1080/14767058.2017.1281904 (2018).
42 Kim, K. W. et al. A rapid matrix metalloproteinase-8 bedside test for the detection of intraamniotic inflammation in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes. Am J Obstet Gynecol 197, 292 e291-295, doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2007.06.040 (2007).
43 Oner, C. et al. Progestin-inflammatory cytokine interactions affect matrix metalloproteinase-1 and -3 expression in term decidual cells: implications for treatment of chorioamnionitis-induced preterm delivery. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 93, 252-259, doi:10.1210/jc.2007-1538 (2008).
44 Furuya, H. et al. Resveratrol Protects Against Pathological Preterm Birth by Suppression of Macrophage-Mediated Inflammation. Reprod Sci 22, 1561-1568, doi:10.1177/1933719115589413 (2015).
45 Migale, R. et al. Specific Lipopolysaccharide Serotypes Induce Differential Maternal and Neonatal Inflammatory Responses in a Murine Model of Preterm Labor. Am J Pathol 185, 2390-2401, doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2015.05.015 (2015).
46 Wahid, H. H. et al. Toll-Like Receptor 4 Is an Essential Upstream Regulator of On-Time Parturition and Perinatal Viability in Mice. Endocrinology 156, 3828-3841, doi:10.1210/EN.2015-1089 (2015).
47 Osaka, N. et al. ASK1-dependent recruitment and activation of macrophages induce hair growth in skin wounds. J Cell Biol 176, 903-909, doi:10.1083/jcb.200611015 (2007).
48 Kamiyama, M. et al. ASK1 facilitates tumor metastasis through phosphorylation of an ADP receptor P2Y12 in platelets. Cell Death Differ 24, 2066-2076, doi:10.1038/cdd.2017.114 (2017).
49 Zaga, V. et al. Secretions of Interleukin-1β and Tumor Necrosis Factor α by Whole Fetal Membranes Depend on Initial Interactions of Amnion or Choriodecidua with Lipopolysaccharides or Group B Streptococci1. Biology of Reproduction 71, 1296-1302, doi:10.1095/biolreprod.104.028621 (2004).
50 Namba, F. et al. Human thioredoxin-1 attenuates the rate of lipopolysaccharide-induced preterm delivery in mice in association with its anti-inflammatory effect. Pediatr Res 80, 433-439, doi:10.1038/pr.2016.100 (2016).
51 Walsh, S. W. et al. Increased expression of toll-like receptors 2 and 9 is associated with reduced DNA methylation in spontaneous preterm labor. J Reprod Immunol 121, 35-41, doi:10.1016/j.jri.2017.05.003 (2017).
52 Denzel, A. et al. Cutting Edge: A Chemical Genetic System for the Analysis of Kinases Regulating T Cell Development. The Journal of Immunology 171, 519-523, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.171.2.519 (2014).
53 Takeda, K. et al. Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase (ASK) 2 functions as a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase in a heteromeric complex with ASK1. J Biol Chem 282, 7522-7531, doi:10.1074/jbc.M607177200 (2007).
54 Adams, R. H. Essential Role of p38α MAP Kinase in Placental but Not Embryonic Cardiovascular Development. Molecular Cell (2000).
55 Mudgett, J. S. Essential role for p38 a mitogen-activated protein kinase in placental angiogenesis (2000).
56 Yamasaki, T. et al. Age-dependent motor dysfunction due to neuron-specific disruption of stress-activated protein kinase MKK7. Scientific Reports 7, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07845-x (2017).