Effect of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate on collagenase production in rabbit uterine cervix culture.

Rabbit uterine cervical explants were found to produce a typical collagenase, latent form, in tissue culture, 4-Aminophenylmercuric acetate and trypsin were potent activators of the enzyme. The enzyme was purified simply in one step of CM-52 cellulose ion-exchange chromatography, and then further characterized. Addition of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS) to culture medium significantly stimulated collagenase production, but DHAS did not directly activate the enzyme. In addition, dehydroepiandrosterone and 17 beta-estradiol, the main metabolites of DHAS in vivo, depressed enzyme production. Our previous result, that increases in cytoplasmic DHAS-binding protein in rabbit uterine cervices parallel the progress of pregnancy, and these results suggest that DHAS might have direct actions toward cervical ripening.