Ovarian and peripheral venous blood prostaglandin F2alpha levels in pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) was measured by radioimmunoassay in human blood plasma collected from both ovarian veins and from a peripheral vein in eight pregnant and seven nonpregnant women. In the pregnant women, significantly higher levels of PGF2alpha were found in venous blood plasma taken from the ovary which contained the corpus luteum than were found in either the ovarian vein blood plasma from the opposite ovary or in the blood plasma from a peripheral vein. Thus, PGF2alpha levels in the venous blood plasma from the ovary without a corpus luteum were not significantly different from those found in the peripheral venous blood plasma. In seven nonpregnant women, significantly higher levels of PGF2alpha were found in the venous blood plasma taken from the ovary which contained a corpus luteum than were found in the blood plasma taken from a peripheral vein. The former levels did not differ significantly from those found in the venous blood plasma taken from the ovary without a corpus luteum in these nonpregnant women. Thus, in nonpregnant women a significant difference was found between PGF2alpha levels in the venous blood plasma from the ovary without a corpus luteum and those in peripheral venous blood plasma.