Oxytocin stimulates the release of arachidonic acid and prostaglandin F2 alpha from human decidual cells |
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Authors: | T Wilson G C Liggins D J Whittaker |
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Institution: | Postgraduate School of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National Womens Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. |
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Abstract: | Oxytocin at a physiological concentration stimulated the immediate release of free arachidonic acid from dispersed human decidual cells in a perfusion system. This indicates that oxytocin activates phospholipase(s) thus enhancing prostaglandin synthesis. The effect of oxytocin on the release of 3H]-arachidonic acid from decidual cells of women in labor was significantly greater (1036 +/- 207, mean dpm +/- SEM, n = 23) than from those of women not-in-labor (505 +/- 121 dpm, n = 12) or with endometrial cells of non-pregnant women (711 +/- 210 dpm, n = 18), and correlates well with reported oxytocin receptor concentrations in these tissues. These new findings are consistent with a role for endogenous oxytocin in stimulating prostaglandin synthesis at the onset of parturition. |
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