Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jovanovic, S.
Right arrow Articles by Jovanovic, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jovanovic, S.
Right arrow Articles by Jovanovic, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 6, No. 4, 361-368, April 2000
© 2000 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Pregnancy

Pregnancy does not alter the response of uterine arteries to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide

Sofija Jovanovic1, Leposava Grbovic2 and Aleksandar Jovanovic1,3

1 Tayside Institute of Child Health, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee, DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK and 2 Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical School, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Abstract

In order to provide sufficient nutrients for fetal development, pregnancy is associated with a significant increase in uterine blood flow. Although vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) is considered to be an important regulator of uterine blood flow it is not known whether endothelium-derived relaxing factors contribute to VIP action in the uterine artery, whether pregnancy alters the effect of VIP in the uterine artery and/or whether VIP interacts with noradrenaline and acetylcholine on the uterine artery and whether pregnancy regulates this possible interaction. In the present study, VIP induced a concentration-dependent relaxation of guinea pig uterine arterial rings, both intact and denuded of endothelium. Pregnancy did not alter the relaxation of uterine artery in response to VIP. In all preparations, addition of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), indomethacin and diethylcarbamazine did not modify the effect of VIP in uterine arteries. The VIP–receptor complex dissociation constant did not differ significantly between studied vessels, and in all experimental groups the relationship between receptor occupancy and the response was linear, with the receptor reserve (KA/EC50) close to unity. VIP did not modulate acetylcholine-induced relaxation or noradrenaline-induced contraction in both non-pregnant and pregnant guinea pig uterine arteries. This study has shown that: (i) VIP induces relaxation of guinea pig uterine artery acting as a partial agonist on receptors localized in smooth muscle; (ii) pregnancy does not alter the response of guinea pig uterine arteries to VIP and does not change the receptor affinity for VIP, the efficiency of the receptor coupling or the VIP receptor density; and (iii) VIP does not modulate effects of neurotransmitters on guinea pig uterine arteries and pregnancy is not associated with the changes of VIP–neurotransmitter interaction.

endothelium/pregnancy/uterine artery/vasoactive intestinal polypeptide

Notes

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Mol Hum ReprodHome page
S. Jovanovic, L. Grbovic, and A. Jovanovic
Pregnancy is associated with altered response to neuropeptide Y in uterine artery
Mol. Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2000; 6(4): 352 - 360.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.