Oxytocin stimulates the release of arachidonic acid and prostaglandin F2α from human decidual cells

Abstract Oxytocin at a physiological concentration stimulated the immediate release of free arachidonic acid from dispersed human decidual cells in a perfusion system. This indicates that oxytocin activates phospholipase(s) thus enhancing prostaglandin synthesis. The effect of oxytocin on the release of [ 3 H]-arachidonic acid from decidual cells of women in labor was significantly greater (1036±207, mean dpm±SEM, n=23) than from those of women not-in-labor (505±121 dpm, n=12) or with endometrial cells of non-pregnant women (711±210 dpm, n=18), and correlates well with reported oxytocin receptor concentrations in these tissues. These new findings are consistent with a role for endogenous oxytocin in stimulating prostaglandin synthesis at the onset of parturition.