EFFECTS OF CATECHOLAMINES ON PREGNANT RAT UTERUS

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Abstract
The effects of noradrenaline (NA) [norepinephrine], adrenaline (Adr) [epinephrine] and isoprenaline (Iso) were studied on pregnant rat uterus, at various stages of gestation (on the 10th and 20th days of pregnancy and on the 1st day postpartum). These catecholamines were inhibitory in all stages of gestation, with the same order of potency as observed in nonpregnant uteri (Iso > Adr > NA). Mean pD2 [-log mean effective concentration] values for the catecholamines tended to decrease as gestation progressed. In 20-day pregnant and 1-day postpartum uteri, in the presence of propranolol, NA and Adr produced consistent .alpha.-adrenoreceptor mediated motor responses. Evidently, in the rat uterus, a form of pregnancy reversal occurs, in that there is a decrease in .beta.-adrenoreceptor responsiveness and an increase in .alpha.-adrenoreceptor responsiveness towards the end of gestation and immediately postpartum.

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