PROGESTERONE IN THE UTERUS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Radio-metabolites of progesterone and progesterone itself were found in the uteri of intact pregnant rats 20 min after injection of [1,2-3H]progesterone. However, after evisceration and removal of the foeto-placental unit, and following injection of the labelled steroid, the progesterone content in the extract from the pregnant rat uterus markedly increased while the metabolite levels correspondingly decreased. An analogous change was observed in the plasma. Thus it appears probable that progesterone is not metabolized in the uterus of pregnant rats, and that metabolites found in this tissue originate predominantly in the foetoplacental system and appear in the plasma and extracellular fluid present in the uterine tissue.