FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Reproduction (Cambridge, England)2001; 121(5); 771-775;

Role of prostaglandins in intrauterine migration of the equine conceptus.

Abstract: Between at least day 9 and day 16 after ovulation the spherical equine conceptus migrates continuously throughout the uterine lumen, propelled by peristaltic myometrial contractions. This unusually long period of intrauterine movement ensures that the conceptus delivers its anti-luteolytic signal to the entire endometrium to achieve luteostasis. The present experiment tested the hypothesis that prostaglandins stimulate the myometrial contractions that result in the migration of the conceptus. Serial ultrasonographic examinations of the uteri of eight mares performed during 2 h periods between day 10 and day 18 of gestation recorded the pattern of conceptus migration before and after treatment with the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor flunixin meglumine. Conceptus mobility was high between day 10 and day 14 after ovulation (4.3 +/- 0.8, 4.7 +/- 0.8 and 4.3 +/- 0.9 changes of location per h on day 10, day 12 and day 14, respectively), but was reduced immediately and markedly by an i.v. injection of flunixin meglumine (3.8 +/- 1.5, 1.8 +/- 0.8 and 0.7 +/- 0.2 location changes per h), thereby implicating prostaglandins as the primary stimulus for the myometrial contractions that drive migration of the conceptus.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2001-06-28 PubMed ID: 11427165
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research investigates the role of prostaglandins in the movement of an equine embryo within the uterus. The study finds that these chemicals stimulate the contractions that cause the embryo to move, which is important for hormone signaling that allows pregnancy to continue.

Background

  • The study focuses on the movement of an equine (horse) embryo, or conceptus, within the uterus from day 9 to day 16 after ovulation.
  • Throughout this period, the conceptus moves extensively, a movement powered by contractions in the myometrium, the muscle layer of the uterus.
  • This period of intrauterine movement is crucial as it allows the conceptus to deliver anti-luteolytic signals across the entire endometrium, resulting in luteostasis, which is the maintenance of the corpus luteum that is necessary for pregnancy to continue.

Hypothesis and Methodology

  • The researchers hypothesized that prostaglandins, a group of physiologically active lipid compounds, cause the myometrial contractions leading to the migration of the conceptus.
  • To test this, they used flunixin meglumine, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor that blocks the production of prostaglandins, and monitored the pattern of conceptus movement with ultrasonography in eight mares at different stages of gestation.

Findings

  • Before treatment with flunixin meglumine, the conceptus moved frequently between day 10 and day 14 after ovulation, changing location 4.3, 4.7, and 4.3 times per hour respectively on the 10th, 12th, and 14th day.
  • However, after the administration of flunixin meglumine, the mobility of the conceptus decreased significantly, implicating prostaglandins as the primary stimulus for the myometrial contractions driving the migration.
  • The mobility decreased notably post-treatment to 3.8, 1.8, and 0.7 location changes per hour respectively, thereby highlighting the importance of prostaglandins in this process.

Conclusion

  • The study concluded that prostaglandins are vital for stimulating the uterine contractions that allow the conceptus to move within the uterus. This movement is crucial to pregnancy maintenance in horses as it facilitates broad delivery of anti-luteolytic signals to prevent luteolysis and prolong the life of the corpus luteum.

Cite This Article

APA
Stout TA, Allen WR. (2001). Role of prostaglandins in intrauterine migration of the equine conceptus. Reproduction, 121(5), 771-775.

Publication

Reproduction (Cambridge, England)
ISSN: 1470-1626
NlmUniqueID: 100966036
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 121
Issue: 5
Pages: 771-775

Researcher Affiliations

Stout, T A
  • University of Cambridge Equine Fertility Unit, Mertoun Paddocks, Woodditton Road, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 9BH, UK. T.A.E.Stout@vet.uu.nl
Allen, W R

    MeSH Terms

    • Animals
    • Clonixin / analogs & derivatives
    • Clonixin / pharmacology
    • Corpus Luteum / physiology
    • Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / pharmacology
    • Embryo, Mammalian / drug effects
    • Embryo, Mammalian / physiology
    • Endometrium / physiology
    • Female
    • Gestational Age
    • Horses / embryology
    • Pregnancy
    • Prostaglandins / physiology
    • Ultrasonography, Prenatal
    • Uterine Contraction
    • Uterus / physiology

    Citations

    This article has been cited 21 times.
    1. Siemieniuch-Tartanus M. The early pregnancy in mares - What do we still not know?. Vet Anim Sci 2025 Jun;28:100441.
      doi: 10.1016/j.vas.2025.100441pubmed: 40129505google scholar: lookup
    2. Drzewiecka EM, Molcan T, Sadowska A, Piotrowska-Tomala K, Słyszewska M, Dias GF, Skarżyński DJ, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A. The myometrial transcriptome changes in mares with endometrosis. Sci Rep 2025 Jan 25;15(1):3173.
      doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-86742-0pubmed: 39863666google scholar: lookup
    3. Piotrowska-Tomala KK, Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Drzewiecka EM, Jonczyk AW, Wójtowicz A, Wrobel MH, Ferreira-Dias G, Skarzynski DJ. Prostaglandin pathways in equine myometrium regulations: endometrosis progression. Front Vet Sci 2024;11:1479508.
      doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1479508pubmed: 39735588google scholar: lookup
    4. Bazer FW, Johnson GA. Early Embryonic Development in Agriculturally Important Species. Animals (Basel) 2024 Jun 26;14(13).
      doi: 10.3390/ani14131882pubmed: 38997994google scholar: lookup
    5. Piotrowska-Tomala KK, Jonczyk AW, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A, Hojo T, Żebrowska E, Katila T, Ferreira-Dias G, Skarzynski DJ. Intrauterine devices influence prostaglandin secretion by equine uterus: in vitro and in vivo studies. BMC Vet Res 2024 Feb 3;20(1):46.
      doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-03889-0pubmed: 38310284google scholar: lookup
    6. Meuffels-Barkas J, Wilsher S, Allen WRT, Ververs C, Lueders I. Comparative reproduction of the female horse, elephant and rhinoceros: implications for advancing Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Reprod Fertil 2023 Jul 1;4(3).
      doi: 10.1530/RAF-23-0020pubmed: 37439577google scholar: lookup
    7. Diel de Amorim M, Klein C, Foster R, Dong L, Lopez-Rodriguez MF, Card C. Expression of Oxytocin/Neurophysin I and Oxytocinase in the Equine Conceptus from Day 8 to Day 21 Post-Ovulation. Animals (Basel) 2022 Mar 22;12(7).
      doi: 10.3390/ani12070799pubmed: 35405789google scholar: lookup
    8. Lawson EF, Grupen CG, Baker MA, Aitken RJ, Swegen A, Pollard CL, Gibb Z. Conception and early pregnancy in the mare: lipidomics the unexplored frontier. Reprod Fertil 2022 Jan 1;3(1):R1-R18.
      doi: 10.1530/RAF-21-0104pubmed: 35350651google scholar: lookup
    9. Segabinazzi LGTM, Roberts BN, Peterson EW, Ambrosia R, Bergfelt D, Samper J, French H, Gilbert RO. Early Pregnancy in Jennies in the Caribbean: Corpus Luteum Development and Progesterone Production, Uterine and Embryo Dynamics, Conceptus Growth and Maturation. Animals (Basel) 2022 Jan 6;12(2).
      doi: 10.3390/ani12020127pubmed: 35049751google scholar: lookup
    10. Klein C, Bruce P, Hammermueller J, Hayes T, Lillie B, Betteridge K. Transcriptional profiling of equine endometrium before, during and after capsule disintegration during normal pregnancy and after oxytocin-induced luteostasis in non-pregnant mares. PLoS One 2021;16(10):e0257161.
      doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257161pubmed: 34614002google scholar: lookup
    11. Budik S, Walter I, Leitner MC, Ertl R, Aurich C. Expression of Enzymes Associated with Prostaglandin Synthesis in Equine Conceptuses. Animals (Basel) 2021 Apr 20;11(4).
      doi: 10.3390/ani11041180pubmed: 33924239google scholar: lookup
    12. Boruszewska D, Kowalczyk-Zieba I, Suwik K, Staszkiewicz-Chodor J, Jaworska J, Lukaszuk K, Woclawek-Potocka I. Prostaglandin E(2) affects in vitro maturation of bovine oocytes. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2020 May 11;18(1):40.
      doi: 10.1186/s12958-020-00598-9pubmed: 32393337google scholar: lookup
    13. Gibson C, de Ruijter-Villani M, Bauersachs S, Stout TAE. Asynchronous Embryo Transfer Followed by Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Conceptus Membranes and Endometrium Identifies Processes Important to the Establishment of Equine Pregnancy. Int J Mol Sci 2020 Apr 7;21(7).
      doi: 10.3390/ijms21072562pubmed: 32272720google scholar: lookup
    14. Klohonatz KM, Coleman SJ, Cameron AD, Hess AM, Reed KJ, Canovas A, Medrano JF, Islas-Trejo AD, Kalbfleisch T, Bouma GJ, Bruemmer JE. Non-Coding RNA Sequencing of Equine Endometrium During Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy. Genes (Basel) 2019 Oct 18;10(10).
      doi: 10.3390/genes10100821pubmed: 31635328google scholar: lookup
    15. Pfeiffer CA, Meyer AE, Brooks KE, Chen PR, Milano-Foster J, Spate LD, Benne JA, Cecil RF, Samuel MS, Ciernia LA, Spinka CM, Smith MF, Wells KD, Spencer TE, Prather RS, Geisert RD. Ablation of conceptus PTGS2 expression does not alter early conceptus development and establishment of pregnancy in the pig†. Biol Reprod 2020 Feb 14;102(2):475-488.
      doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioz192pubmed: 31616930google scholar: lookup
    16. Klohonatz KM, Coleman SJ, Islas-Trejo AD, Medrano JF, Hess AM, Kalbfleisch T, Thomas MG, Bouma GJ, Bruemmer JE. Coding RNA Sequencing of Equine Endometrium during Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy. Genes (Basel) 2019 Sep 25;10(10).
      doi: 10.3390/genes10100749pubmed: 31557877google scholar: lookup
    17. Klohonatz KM, Nulton LC, Hess AM, Bouma GJ, Bruemmer JE. The role of embryo contact and focal adhesions during maternal recognition of pregnancy. PLoS One 2019;14(3):e0213322.
      doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213322pubmed: 30835748google scholar: lookup
    18. Bonometti S, Menarim BC, Reinholt BM, Ealy AD, Johnson SE. Growth factor modulation of equine trophoblast mitosis and prostaglandin gene expression. J Anim Sci 2019 Feb 1;97(2):865-873.
      doi: 10.1093/jas/sky473pubmed: 30535412google scholar: lookup
    19. Aurich C, Budik S. Early pregnancy in the horse revisited - does exception prove the rule?. J Anim Sci Biotechnol 2015;6:50.
      doi: 10.1186/s40104-015-0048-6pubmed: 26635959google scholar: lookup
    20. Tachibana Y, Sakurai T, Bai H, Shiota K, Nambo Y, Nagaoka K, Imakawa K. RNA-seq analysis of equine conceptus transcripts during embryo fixation and capsule disappearance. PLoS One 2014;9(12):e114414.
      doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114414pubmed: 25514169google scholar: lookup
    21. Drews B, Roellig K, Menzies BR, Shaw G, Buentjen I, Herbert CA, Hildebrandt TB, Renfree MB. Ultrasonography of wallaby prenatal development shows that the climb to the pouch begins in utero. Sci Rep 2013;3:1458.
      doi: 10.1038/srep01458pubmed: 23492830google scholar: lookup
    Subscribe to our newsletter
    Join 99,780 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.