EFFECT OF PROSTAGLANDIN E2 ON THE CONCENTRATION OF CORTISOL IN THE PLASMA OF NEWBORN LAMBS

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Abstract
Infusion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) into the carotid artery of the fetal lamb increases the concentration of cortisol in the fetal plasma even at stages of pregnancy when the fetal adrenal gland is relatively insensitive to endogenous or exogenous ACTH. The site of this PG action was examined in lambs aged 5-6 days, by which time closure of the ductus arteriosus is advanced, and pulmonary metabolism should separate the effects of PG administered into the brachiocephalic trunk or descending aorta. PGE2 will stimulate an increase in the concentration of cortisol in the plasma of newborn lambs, as in the fetus. However, PGE2 does not appear to act directly on the adrenal gland, but indirectly, mediated via the brain and/or the pituitary gland. ACTH may have been released, but if the pituitary gland and/or brain is the site of PGE2 action in the fetus, the effect on the level of cortisol is unlikely to be due to ACTH because it is seen at a stage of pregnancy when the fetal adrenal gland is relatively insensitive to ACTH. This suggests the possible release of, and trophic role for, other messengers of intracranial origin during fetal life.

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