A proposed role for oxytocin in regulation of endometrial prostaglandin F2 alpha secretion during luteolysis in swine.

Pulsatile secretion of endometrial prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha is stimulated by oxytocin (OT) during late diestrus in domestic ruminants (i.e., cattle, sheep and goats) and results in corpus luteum (CL) regression leading to the onset of a new estrous cycle. Pulsatile PGF2 alpha release is also responsible for CL regression in swine, but the stimulus for its secretion from the uterine endometrium is not known. We propose that OT binds to specific OT receptors (OTR) on the endometrium to stimulate phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis, thereby activating the inositol trisphosphate (IP3)-diacylglycerol (DAG) second-messenger system to promote pulsatile PGF2 alpha secretion. Exogenous OT administered to cyclic gilts during late diestrus (days 10-16) decreased interestrous interval in three of four experiments. However, OT did not promote CL regression in hysterectomized gilts indicating that the effect of OT was uterine-dependent. Circulating concentrations of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto PGF2 alpha (the major stable metabolite of PGF2 alpha) were increased (p < 0.01) 10 min after i.v. injection of OT on days 14 and 16 in cyclic gilts and on days 10-16 in pregnant gilts, but the magnitude of the response to OT on all days in pregnant gilts was markedly reduced compared to the response in cyclic gilts on days 14 and 16. Mean density and Kd of OTR detected on endometrium of cyclic pigs 15 days post-estrus were 29.2 +/- 5.5 fmol/mg protein and 1.59 +/- 0.23 nM, respectively. Density of OTR was correlated with OT-stimulated PI hydrolysis (r = 0.83, p < 0.05) and PGF2 alpha secretion (r = 0.87, p < 0.10). Endometrial IP3 was increased within 30 seconds after OT treatment and preceded the increase in PGF2 alpha release stimulated by OT. Endometrial PI hydrolysis and PGF2 alpha secretion were similarly increased by AIF4-(phospholipase C activator), but not by cholera toxin (adenylyl cyclase activator). Although OT binding to OTR could be displaced by lysine-vasopressin and lysine-vasopressin stimulated PI hydrolysis, lysine-vasopressin did not stimulate PGF2 alpha release. Distinct receptors for OT and lysine-vasopressin on pig endometrium were confirmed by treatment with 100 nM OT + 100 nM lysine-vasopressin which stimulated PI hydrolysis more than 100-200 nM OT or lysine-vasopressin alone. These results support the hypothesis that OT stimulates phospholipase C to hydrolyze PI, yielding IP3 and DAG second-messengers which promote endometrial PGF2 alpha release during CL regression in pigs.