title: Luteinising hormone attenuates the vascular response to norepinephrine.
abstract: The present study examines the direct effect of luteinising hormone (LH) on the reactivity of the porcine uterine artery to norepinephrine (NE). Three-mm-long arterial segments collected during the luteal phase of the oestrous cycle were mounted in an organ bath for isometric tension recording. After 30 min of equilibration in optimal passive tone, one part of the vessels was treated with 10 ng/ml of LH in PBS (experimental), while a second part of the arterial segments was treated with 10 ng/ml of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in PBS (control). After 30 min of equilibration, NE was given to each organ bath in a cumulative concentration manner, ranging between 1 x 10(-8) mol/l to 3 x 10(-4) mol/l. NE caused a dose-dependent contraction of all experimental and control arteries. The addition of LH caused a rightward shift of the dose-response curve to NE. The corresponding EC50 values were 2.17 (+/- 0.39) micromol/l in PBS-pretreated vessels and 3.35 (+/- 0.41) micromol/l in LH-pretreated vessels (P < 0.05). The results of the present study demonstrate that LH attenuates the vascular response to NE in third-order branches of the uterine artery. Therefore, it can be suggested that besides the known effect of LH-hCG on the formation of vasoactive eicosanoids, an additional mechanism is involved in the direct action of LH on blood flow in the uterine arteries in pigs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 10-747 Olsztyn, Poland. jskip@pan.olsztyn.pl
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skipor
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kowalik
authors.forename: Stanisława
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stefańczyk-Krzymowska
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013552:Swine; D014599:Uterus / Q000098:blood supply*; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D009638:Norepinephrine