Role of tumour necrosis factor α in stimulation of prostaglandins F2α and E2 release by cultured porcine porcine endometrial cells

The present studies were undertaken to examine the effect of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha on prostaglandins (PGs) F-2 alpha and E-2 release by cultured porcine endometrial cells harvested on days 13-16 after oestrus in comparison to stimulation with oxytocin (OT) and luteinizing hormone (LH). A time-dependent effect of TNF alpha (10 ng/ml) on PGF(2 alpha) release was observed in stromal and luminal epithelial cells. Moreover TNFa increased PGF(2 alpha) secretion from both endometrial cell types with effective concentrations of 1 (p < 0.05), 10 and 50 ng/ml (p < 0.01). The effect of TNF alpha (10 ng/ml) on endometrial PGF(2 alpha) and PGE(2) release was compared with OT (100 nmol/l) and LH (100 ng/ml). All factors affected PGF(2 alpha) secretion from stromal cells, however, the stimulation tended to be more potent after OT and LH (p < 0.01) than after TNF alpha (p < 0.05) treatment. In epithelial cells, only TNF alpha was able to stimulate PGF(2 alpha) release (p < 0.001). PGE2 secretion from stromal cells increased after incubation with TNF alpha and OT (p < 0.05). Only LH stimulated PGE(2) release from epithelium (p < 0.001), and its action was very effective when compared with TNF or OT (p < 0.01). Summarizing, TNF) induces both PGs secretion from cultured porcine endometrium, but preferentially stimulates PGF(2 alpha) release from luminal epithelial cells. Therefore, similarly to OT and LH, TNF alpha may be considered as a potential modulator of endometrial PGF(2 alpha) production during luteolysis in the pig.