The steroid hormone progesterone is considered indisPensible for pregnancy - it is the 'hormone of pregnancy' as described by corner (1928). It is generally agreed that the role of progesterone in all species is to Prepare the endometrium for pregnancy and to contribute to the maintenance of myometrial quiescence from implantation to the end of Pregnancy. There is however, a conflict of opinion concerning its role in pregnancy termination. In some species, for example the sheep, there is considerable evidence that progesterone provides an important link between fetal cortisol and the control of uterine activity. But in human pregnancy the evidence is conflicting. The present study investigates the role of progesterone in the initiation of uterine activity in; - late pregnant ehtes, - early human pregnancy and - the luteal phase of the human menstrual cycIe. The study was designed following the development of a 3 B-nyaroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 B-ttso) inhibitor (Epostane) by Sterling Winthrop Research. In vitro, Epostane acts comPetitively to inhibit the conversion of pregnenolone to Progesterone. This provides a method of investigating the role of Progesterone in the classical manner - depressing the rate of secretion.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/269294 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Pattison, Neil Spencer |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: the author |
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