Impact of progesterone, estradiol and oxytocin on prostaglandin production in cultured bubaline endometrial epithelial and stromal cells

Prostaglandins play major roles in ovulation, luteolysis, maternal recognition of pregnancy, and implantation. The present study investigated the effects of progesterone, estradiol, and oxytocin on the control of prostaglandin production in buffalo endometrial epithelial and stromal cells in vitro. The uterine epithelial and stromal cells at confluency were treated with increasing doses of progesterone (1, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 nM), estrogen (2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 50 nM) and oxytocin (1, 10, 100, 10³, 10⁴ and 10⁵ nM) for 24 hrs. The medium was collected for quantification of prostaglandins. The production of PGF_2χ was maximum with 10 nM progesterone, 50 nM estradiol, and 10³ nM oxytocin in epithelial cells. In stromal cells, the highest production of PGF_2χ was observed with 10 nM progesterone, 5 nM estradiol, and 10³ nM oxytocin. The peak concentrations of PGE₂ were found in the presence of 25 nM progesterone, 2.5 nM estradiol, and 1 nM oxytocin in epithelial cells. However, in stromal cells, the production of PGE₂ was maximum with 75 nM progesterone, 50 nM estradiol, and 10 nM oxytocin. It can be concluded that the production of prostaglandins was modulated by steroid hormones and oxytocin in the endometrial epithelial and stromal cells of buffalo.