Effects of Hormonal Perturbations on the Small Dermatan Sulfate Proteoglycan and Mechanical Properties of the Uterine Cervix of Late Pregnant Rats

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Abstract
Rats at 16-18 days of pregnancy were treated with various hormones in attempts to accelerate cervical softening and dilatation. Mechanical properties and biochemical components of the extracellular matrix were quantified at day 19. PGF2α treatment significantly increased cervical wet weight, inner circumference, total amount and concentration of small dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, and the ratio of small proteoglycan to collagen; it decreased the concentration of collagen. Fluprostenol increased the extensibility and the rate of creep and decreased the collagen concentration. The progesterone antagonist ZK 98. 734 (11β-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-17β-hydroxy-17α-(3-hydroxy-prop-(Z)-enyl)-4, 9, (10)-estradiene-3-one) increased the inner circumference and the ratio of small proteoglycan to collagen; it decreased the collagen concentration. Treatment with 17β-estradiol increased the amount of medium-sized proteoglycans and decreased the concentration of the small proteoglycan. The results support the hypothesis advanced in our earlier study18 that the inner circumference of the cervix, a measure of dilatation, is dependent upon the ratio of small dermatan sulfate proteoglycan-II (decorin) to collagen. These studies also suggest that changes in the inner circumference and the extensibility of the cervix involve two distinct processes of connective tissue alteration.