PRODUCTION OF PROSTAGLANDINS BY THE GUINEA-PIG UTERUS

Abstract

SUMMARY The production of prostaglandins by the uterus and the resting levels of prostaglandins in the uterus on selected days of the oestrous cycle were determined in guinea-pigs. Prostaglandin F2α was detectable in the guinea-pig uterus in small amounts on days 13, 14 and 15 of the cycle. Prostaglandin E2 was present in even smaller amounts on days 14 and 15. The homogenized guinea-pig uterus had the ability to biosynthesize prostaglandins, from endogenous precursors, during incubation on every day of the cycle studied. Four to six times more prostaglandin F2α than E2 was produced on any one day with the amounts of prostaglandins formed increasing towards the end of the oestrous cycle. Indomethacin inhibited the biosynthesis of prostaglandins by the guinea-pig uterus. The implications of these findings are discussed.