Physiological Reviews, Vol 56, 595-651, Copyright © 1976 by American Physiological Society
Uterine luteolytic hormone: a physiological role for prostaglandin F2alpha
E. W. Horton and N. L. Poyser
To summarize luteal function during pregnancy briefly, there are
physiological processes initiated by the embryo and/or conceptus in early
pregnancy that serve to prolong the life-span of the corpus luteum. Some of
these processes are well defined, but others remain more obscure. The
corpus luteum is maintained in a functional state throughout pregnancy (at
least in those species described in this review), even though in several
species progesterone production by the corpus luteum is not required after
the first third of the gestational period. The cessation of secretory
function by the corpus luteum of pregnancy at the end of gestation is
apparently actively induced. There is evidence in some species (especially
the goat) that this is due to PGF2alpha released from the uterus or
placenta. It is concluded that the occurrence of luteal regression in
several species of mammal can be attributed to the physiological release of
PGF2alpha from both the pregnant and nonpregnant uterus.
