Observations on the loss of catecholamine fluorescence from intrauterine adrenergic nerves during pregnancy in the guinea-pig

in Reproduction
Authors:
C. Bell
Search for other papers by C. Bell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
S. J. Malcolm
Search for other papers by S. J. Malcolm in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0530051
Volume/Issue:
Volume 53: Issue 1
Page Range:
51–NP
Article Type:
Research Article
Online Publication Date:
May 1978
Free access

Sign up for journal news

Summary. During unilateral pregnancy in the guinea-pig there is loss of formaldehyde-induced fluorescence from the adrenergic nerves supplying the uterus and its vasculature. This loss occurs initially near the site of implantation at about Day 20 of gestation and spreads progressively. Implantation of wax pellets containing progesterone into the uterine lumen or the gastrocnemius muscle of virgin guinea-pigs for 7 days produced loss of fluorescence from all local adrenergic nerves. No diminution of fluorescence was seen when pellets containing oestradiol were substituted. Chronic denervation studies showed that the adrenergic axons supplying the uterus and its arteries originated from both the ovarian artery and the pelvic region. Our results suggest that loss of adrenergic fluorescence within the uterus during pregnancy is due to an effect of placental progesterone which is localized to the uterus because the high concentration of progesterone necessary to cause fluorescence loss is not attained in the systemic circulation.

Reproduction is committed to supporting researchers in demonstrating the impact of their articles published in the journal.

The two types of article metrics we measure are (i) more traditional full-text views and pdf downloads, and (ii) Altmetric data, which shows the wider impact of articles in a range of non-traditional sources, such as social media.

More information is on the Reasons to publish page.

Sept 2018 onwards Past Year Past 30 Days
Full Text Views 140 41 7
PDF Downloads 80 28 4

 

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Print ISSN:
1470-1626
Online ISSN:
1741-7899