Prostanoid-induced contraction of the rabbit isolated uterus is mediated by FP receptors

Natural and synthetic prostanoid agonists were used to study the prostanoid receptors involved in contraction of the mature, isolated uterus of virgin rabbits. The prostanoids elicited contractile responses with a Yank order of potency of PGF(2)alpha, fluprostenol > PGD(2) > U-46619 > PGE(2) > carbaprostacyclin with mean EC50 (nM) values of 4, 6, 34, 550, 1318 and >10,000, respectively. Carbachol, a muscarinic agonist given after the prostanoids to elicit a reference contraction, had a mean EC50 value of 1.1 mu M. The results show that the mature rabbit uterus is most sensitive to prostaglandin FP agonists and, thus, can be defined pharmacologically as an FP receptor preparation. These findings may facilitative investigations into the possibility of different prostanoid receptor populations. In the absence of useful competitive FP receptor antagonists, agonist potency data is particularly useful in systems where cross-species comparisons and tissue-related factors are not involved. The potent activities of the FP agonists, PGF(2)alpha and fluprostenol, in the isolated jugular vein and uterus of the rabbit suggest that these tissues may be useful for intra-species comparisons.