Summary. The a-adrenergic activity of the myometrium was studied by recording the electromyographic activity (EMG) of the uterus in 4 conscious cyclic ewes during oestrus and in 8 conscious pregnant ewes during the last 6 days of gestation.In the cyclic ewes, changes in intra-uterine pressure were recorded at the same time as the EMG. Motor responses to perfusions of phenylephrine, a specific a-adrenergic agonist, were studied at three uterine sites. In the ewes in oestrus, uterine activity was stimulated at the three sites by perfusions with phenylephrine (0.6, 2.5, 5 or 10 pg/kg/min). The whole uterine horn was a-adrenergic-responsive. The effect of the drug was dosedependent in that the uterine response increased with the dose and reached a plateau at 5 pg/kg/min.In the late pregnant ewes, the motor responses to the perfusion of phenylephrine at 10 wg/kg/min were studied at three uterine sites once a day during the last 6 days of gestation. Plasma levels of progesterone and total oestrogens were measured at the same time.Up to 48 h before parturition, the effect of phenylephrine depended on the uterine site. The drug had no or little effect at the tubal end of the horn. Phenylephrine stimulated uterine activity at the cervical end of the horn in at least 50 % of the ewes. Thus, during this part of gestation, the a-adrenergic sensitivity of the myometrium was greater at the cervical than at the tubal end of the uterine horn. Forty-eight hours before parturition, phenylephrine stimulated uterine activity at all three uterine sites in all the ewes. Thus, a-adrenergic sensitivity developed over the uterine horn beginning 48 h before parturition at the same time that the oestrogen level increased.Introduction.
To investigate a possible regional variation of the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide innervation in the uterus of the cyclic rat, the distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing nerve fibres from the cervix to the oviduct end of the uterine horns was studied using immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactive nerve fibres were most concentrated in the cervix, where they formed a dense plexus in association with the musculature and surrounding blood vessels. In the uterus, a clear regional distribution of the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide innervation was observed. Numerous vascular and non-vascular immunoreactive nerve fibres were present in the lower part of the uterine horns, whereas they were sparse in the median region and absent at the oviduct end. Moreover, non-vascular peptide innervation was mostly concentrated in the circular layer of the myometrium and also occurred in the endometrium. Only a very few immunoreactive nerve fibres were present in the longitudinal muscle layer. No change in the peptide innervation pattern was observed during the different stages of the sexual cycle. The marked regional distribution of the peptide innervation in the rat uterus suggests that the regulatory effects of the peptide occur mainly in the lower part of the organ and principally affect the circular muscle layer in the myometrium.
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