The effect of in vivo progesterone administration on relaxin-inhibited rat uterine contractions

Steven H. Brenner, Joseph B. Lessing, Gerson Weiss*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Progesterone pretreatment in vitro was previously shown to sensitize myometrium to the inhibiting effect of relaxin. The following experiments were performed to control for possible artifacts of the in vitro system and to place these studies on a more physiologic basis. Immature rats were treated with estrogen and either progesterone or vehicle only. Uterine horn segments were isolated and mounted in a muscle bath. After a baseline contraction pattern was established by means of electrical stimulation, porcine relaxin was added to the bath. At all dose levels of relaxin, greater inhibition of contraction amplitude occurred in uterine segments of progesterone-treated animals. Since both progesterone and relaxin are present in the circulation from the time of the missed menses in human pregnancy, this interaction suggests a physiologic synergism in the maintenance of early human pregnancy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)946-950
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume148
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 1984
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
United Cerebral Palsy Foundation
National Institutes of Health
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentR01HD012395

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