title: Collagen solubility and tensile properties of the rat uterine cervix in late pregnancy: effects of arachidonic acid and prostaglandin F 2 alpha.
abstract: The collagen concentration in rat uterine cervix was less on day 18 of pregnancy than in the non-pregnant animal but did not diminish further as pregnancy proceeded. The solubility of cervical collagen in warm acetic acid (0.5 mol/l) was increased on day 22 compared with days 19, 20 and 21 of pregnancy, and there was a positive correlation of increasing solubility with the tissue rate of creep (a measure of reducing stiffness of the cervix). Treatment of rats subcutaneously with arachidonic acid or prostaglandin F 2 alpha (PGF 2 alpha) on day 18 of pregnancy decreased the stiffness of the tissue when assessed on day 19 and this was accompanied by increased solubility in cold saline (0.45 mol/1), cold acetic acid and warm acetic acid and a reduction in collagen concentration. These results suggest that collagen properties rather than concentration are important in determining the stiffness of the rat uterine cervix at term and that exogenous PGF 2 alpha and arachidonic acid cause biochemical changes in collagen structure unlike those seen at term in untreated animals.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000502:physiology*; D015237:Dinoprost / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005260:Female; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D011461:Prostaglandins F, Synthetic / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012995:Solubility; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D011461:Prostaglandins F, Synthetic; D003094:Collagen; D015237:Dinoprost; C010714:dinoprost tromethamine