Human Myometrial smooth muscle cells (MSMC) are located in the myometrium between the endometrium and the serosa of the uterus. MSMC play role in the stretching of the uterus during pregnancy and are also responsible for uterine contractions during labor. To accommodate the growing embryo, the myometrium expands through smooth muscle cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Typically, the uterine myometrium consists of differentiated smooth muscle cells, but in certain pathological conditions, such as uterine leiomyomata, smooth muscle cells in the myometrium proliferate abnormally to form tumors. Studies indicate that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) may stimulate MSMC proliferation and consequently may play a role in the formation of leiomyomata. Cultured MSMC are an excellent model to study the physiology of pregnancy and labor; but also the mechanisms that contribute to the development of uterine leiomyomata

Human Myometrial Smooth Muscle Cells are also useful tools to develop disease models for High Throughput and High Content Screening.