Abstract
It has recently been suggested that platelet-activating factor is involved in a number of processes associated with reproductive biology. We have demonstrated a critical role for this autacoid in the initiation and maintenance of parturition both in animals and man. In the present investigation, it has been demonstrated that platelet-activating factor affects contraction in strips of human myometrium at concentrations as low as 10−10 mol/L. A platelet-activating factor receptor has been identified and characterized in human myometrium. Platelet-activating factor acts to cause an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration of isolated myometrial smooth muscle cells in culture and an increase in the phosphorylation of the 20 kd light chain of myosin in a concentration-dependent fashion. The presence of platelet-activating factor receptors in human myometrium, the observed increase in Ca+2 concentration and phosphorylation of myosin light chain in the presence of platelet-activating factor provide further support for the importance of this autacoid in the initation of parturition.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1222-1227 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | American journal of obstetrics and gynecology |
Volume | 166 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1992 |
Keywords
- Platelet-activating factor
- calcium
- myometrium
- myosin light chain phosphorylation
- platelet-activating factor receptors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology