Hormonal control of implantation in guinea pigs.

In the guinea pig, for which implantation is supposedly progesterone-dependent, actual hormonal requirements were assessed by measuring the levels of circulating estradiol and progesterone and correlating them with their content in the ovaries and uterus, and uterine concentrations of their receptors prior to, during, and immediately after implantation. Ovarian and uterine content and plasma levels of estradiol and progesterone, as well as uterine cytosolic receptors of these two hormones, were high at proestrus. Up to day 3 of pregnancy, estradiol remained high in peripheral plasma, ovarian and uterine tissues, but reached low levels at the time of implantation. The levels of progesterone showed a gradual increase in plasma and ovaries till the time of implantation, with the embryonic site of the uterus accumulating more of progesterone compared to estradiol. As pregnancy progressed, a gradual translocation of cytosolic to nuclear receptors occurred, both with estradiol and progesterone receptors. Comparing the receptor values for estradiol at each uterine site showed no significant alterations between embryonic and interembryonic cytosolic receptors. While significantly high levels of nuclear estradiol receptor were found at the inter-embryonic site on day 9 of pregnancy, the cytosolic and nuclear progesterone receptor concentrations were greater at the embryonic site on the same day. These findings demonstrated that the uterus is adequately exposed to estradiol and progesterone prior to ovulation and again in early pregnancy (day 1-3), thus facilitating implantation in the guinea pig (on days 7-8).