No abstract

The concentration of oxytocin receptors increased in the myometrium of pregnant women and reached maximum levels in early labor. Concentrations of oxytocin receptors were also high in the decidua and reached a maximum at parturition. In vitro, prostaglandin production by the decidua, but not by the myometrium, was increased by the addition of oxytocin. Oxytocin may therefore stimulate uterine contractions by acting both directly on the myometrium and indirectly on decidual prostaglandin production. Oxytocin receptors are probably crucial for the onset of human labor, and the stimulus for the increase in uterine prostaglandins may be oxytocin originating from the fetus.

Specific binding of tritiated oxytocin to uterine receptors of pregnant rats increases dramatically at term and is maximal during labor. In mammary glands the increase in binding is gradual, reaching a maximum during the lactation period. Concomitant changes in the sensitivity of the uterus and mammary gland to oxytocin indicate that the receptor concentration is of functional significance. Oxytocin receptors, therefore, may regulate the response of the target organs to circulating oxytocin and thereby control the onset of labor and lactation. Ovarian steroids participate in the regulation of oxytocin receptors in a manner as yet unclarified.

Marked changes in the uterine binding of oxytocin (OT) occur in rats at the time of parturition or after treatment of ovariectomized rats with estrogen or progesterone. To ascertain that these binding sites represent the biological receptors for OT, we measured the uterine response to OT in various groups of rats in which specific OT binding was also determined. Intact pregnant rats and rats ovariectomized on day 20 of gestation and treated thereafter with oil, estradiol benzoate (5 micrograms/24 h), progesterone (5 mg/24 h), or estradiol and progesterone together had indwelling balloons inserted on day 20 for the recording of uterine response to either iv bolus injections or iv infusions of OT. The uterus was removed 24-48 h after balloon insertion, and OT binding to the particulate fraction as well as nuclear estrogen and cytosolic estrogen receptor concentrations were determined. An inverse correlation (r2 = 0.758) was found between the concentration of OT-binding sites and the threshold dose of OT, and a linear correlation was found between the concentration of binding sites and the uterine activity induced by OT infusion (r2 = 0.852). We conclude, therefore, that the high affinity (Kd, 1-2 nM) binding sites for OT represent the physiological receptors. The concentration of these sites increased progressively during estrogen treatment. Progesterone completely inhibited this estrogen-induced rise. After ovariectomy, there was a modest, but significant, increase in OT receptor concentration which also was prevented by progesterone. The increase in OT receptor concentration was correlated with the estrogen receptor concentration in intact pregnant and estrogen-treated ovariectomized animals, but not in the other groups of animals. The apparent affinity of the receptors for OT was not significantly affected by hormone treatment. We conclude that the concentration of receptors is a major factor controlling the uterine responsiveness to OT, and that the receptor concentrations are regulated by ovarian hormones in a manner related to estrogen receptor activation. In addition, estrogen appeared to enhance the coupling of OT receptor occupancy to the tissue response to OT.

Endometrial and myometrial tissues, obtained from Merino ewes on 5 different days of the estrous cycle, were incubated at 37 C in 30 ml of gassed (95% O2:5% CO2) Krebs-bicarbonate buffer containing, 0, 10, 100 or 1,000 muU/ml oxytocin. Aliquots of the medium were removed at 10 min intervals and examined for prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) content by radioimmunoassay. Fresh-frozen (-70 C) samples of endometrial and myometrial tissue were homogenized in Tyrode's solution. Particulate fractions from each tissue, sedimenting between 1,000 X g for 10 min and 165,000 X g for 30 min, were prepared and assayed for [3H]oxytocin-binding activity. Endometrium incubated in vitro released PGF2alpha spontaneously and oxytocin enhanced this release in a dose-dependent manner. The degree of enhancement with low doses of oxytocin appeared to increase as estrus approached, reaching a maximum on the day of estrus. High-affinity binding sites (Kd = 5 to 7 X 10(-10) M) were found in both myometrium and endometrium. The number of high-affinity sites rose to a peak at estrus in both tissues but the binding capacity of endometrium was twice that of the myometrium at this time. Although both tissues released PGF2alpha during incubation, oxytocin enhanced release from endometrial tissue only. The results suggest that (i) the endometrium is a target for oxytocin, (ii) synthesis of PGF2alpha by the uterus may involve interaction between oxytocin and its endometrial receptors and (iii) ovarian steroids may influence uterine PG synthesis by regulating the availability of these receptors.

Rat myometrium exhibited a marked rise in the concentration of oxytocin (OT) receptors during parturition. The elevation began several hours before labor, was maximal during labor, and declined several hours later. In the perinatal period, the change in OT receptor concentration was proportional to the ratio of plasma estradiol to progesterone levels. Several hours before the increase in OT receptor concentration, there was a proportional increase in estrogen receptor concentration in both the cytosol and nuclear fractions of the myometrium. In view of the known action of estrogens in increasing the concentration of OT receptors in rat uterus, we propose that the following sequence of events occurs in the initiation of labor in the rat. The decline in serum progesterone permits estradiol to stimulate the synthesis of estrogen receptors in the myometrium. This increased concentration of estrogen receptors and their occupancy by estradiol stimulates the appearance of more OT receptors, which then trigger labor by interacting with circulating OT.

No abstract

Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and its