Title: Prostaglandins and prostaglandin antagonists in female reproduction: an overview.

POPLINE Document Number: 800151

Author(s):

Lindner HR
Zor U
Kohen F

Source citation:

In: Turnbull AC ed. Research and clinical forums. Sussex, England, Grange Press, [1980]. :1-48.

Abstract:

This monograph chapter reviews the role of endogenous prostaglandins (PGs) and PG antagonists in female reproduction. In laboratory rodents, PG or metabolites of arachidonic acid are essential for follicular rupture and release of fertilizable oocytes, for cycle regression of the corpus luteum, and for delivery of normal, live offspring. In humans, PGs seem to modulate ovum transport, help initiate decidual reaction, help adapt uterine blood flow, and have a part in regulating the partition of the fetal cardiac output between the pulmonary, systemic, and placental vascular beds. PGs arise throughout the female reproductive tract, apparently in response to gonadotropins and steroid hormones. Inhibitors of PGs have been successfully used to control dysmenorrheic symptoms, menorrhagia, preterm labor, and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in humans. PGs are useful as an aid to uterine evacuation in humans, and have the ability to synchronize estrous in farm animals. PGs have been implicated in the following physiological and pathological processes: 1) smooth muscle contractility; 2) modulation of adrenergic transmission; 3) regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure; 4) platelet aggregation; 5) female reproduction, including ovulation, ovum transport, implantation, luteolysis, menstruation, labor, and abortion; 6) hormone production and modulation of hormone action; 7) gastric acid secretion and intestinal motility; 8) inflammation and pain reactions; 9) pyrexia; 10) modulation of immune response; 11) regulation of cell growth; 12) calcium ion absorption from the bone; 13) renal function; and 14) intermediary metabolism.

Keywords:

Hormone Antagonists
Prostaglandins
Gonadotropins, Pituitary
Hormones
Luteolytic Effects
Ovulation
Menstruation
Implantation
Menstruation Disorders
Uterus
Ovary
Hypothalamus
Endocrine System
Physiology
Biology
Gonadotropins
Corpus Luteum
Genitalia, Female
Genitalia
Urogenital System
Reproduction
Pregnancy, First Trimester
Pregnancy
Diseases
Central Nervous System