Collagenolytic Activity and Steroid Levels After Administration of Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate

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Abstract
Seventy-five pregnant women in their 38th to 41st weeks of gestation were given a single intravenous injection of 200 mg of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS). The changes in estriol, 17β-estradiol and progesterone levels in the serum, the uterine cervix and the myometrium of the placenta-implanting site were then determined. Estriol levels remained unchanged both in serum and tissue, but the level of 17β-estradiol increased sharply both in serum and tissue after four hours. The increases of 17β-estradiol in the serum and the portio vaginalis of the same patient were well correlated (r = 0.79898), but the percentage of increase was much higher in the portio vaginalis than in the serum (p < 0.001). Serum progesterone levels did not change initially, but always decreased within four or eight hours in cases in which labor had started or delivery was accomplished within 24 hours (p < 0.01 at four hours). The total amount of collagenase was determined in ten subjects before and after the administration of DHAS. The total collagenase activity was elevated by an average of 152.3%. The peak of activity was accelerated from the fourth to the second day (p < 0.001) of the culture. A probable mechanism of DHAS action in accelerating cervical ripening is presented.