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Biomedical subjects

M C Rees

Publications and source records attributed to M C Rees.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Prostaglandin D2 release by endometrium and myometrium.

Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) release was studied using a superfusion technique in endometrium and myometrium obtained at hysterectomy from 36 women with measured menstrual blood loss (range 4-840 ml). PGD2 was produced by both tissues with greater rates from endometrium. Cyclical changes in release were found only in the endometrium with increased rates during menstruation and the mid-luteal phase. In the myometrium the highest release rates were present during menstruation at the start of the superfusion. No significant correlation was found between menstrual blood loss and endometrial or myometrial PGD2 release.

Adult↗

Leiomyomas release prostaglandins.

Prostaglandin release by leiomyomas obtained throughout the menstrual cycle was examined using a superfusion technique. The principal prostaglandin produced was 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, with PGF2 alpha and PGE2 in lesser amounts. No cyclical changes in prostaglandin release was detected.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

Coagulation factors and fibrinolytic proteins in menstrual fluid collected from normal and menorrhagic women.

Menstrual fluid was collected in vaginal cups inserted for 2 h during the first 2 days of menstruation and selected coagulation and fibrinolytic proteins were measured. All the samples showed a virtual absence of thrombin generating activity and exhaustion of fibrinolytic proteins. In 14 women in whom menstrual fluid was collected on both days, no significant difference in the levels of any factor was found apart from alpha-2-macroglobulin which were lower on day 1 than on day 2. Except for plasminogen and alpha-2-macroglobulin concentrations on day 1, no correlation was found between any of the factors on either day and menstrual blood loss (range 15-666 ml).

Adult↗

Examination of certain coagulation factors in menstrual fluid from women with normal blood loss.

Examination of coagulation factors in menstrual fluid collected from women with normal menstrual blood less (less than 80 ml) showed the absence of thrombin generating enzymes. Factor X, pro-thrombin and free thrombin were absent from menstrual fluid. No difference was found between days 1 and 2 of menstruation. Thus activation of coagulation enzymes occurs during normal menstruation though the menstrual blood is characteristically fluid.

Adult↗

Arachidonic acid metabolism by the non-pregnant human uterus.

Arachidonic acid metabolism in the non-pregnant human uterus was studied using short term incubations of human endometrium and myometrium with [14C] arachidonic acid followed by HPLC separation of the arachidonic acid metabolites formed. Lipoxygenase as well as cyclooxygenase activity was found in both the endometrium and myometrium although the endometrium predominated in arachidonic acid product formation. The lipoxygenase products formed by these tissues included the monohydroxy acids 5-HETE and 12-HETE.

12-Hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic Acid↗

Quantitative uterine histology during the menstrual cycle in relation to measured menstrual blood loss.

Endometrium and myometrium were collected at hysterectomy from 42 women with measured menstrual blood loss (range 4-840 ml). The specimens, obtained throughout the menstrual cycle, showed no evidence of organic disease on histological examination. The volume fraction occupied by arteries at the myometrial-endometrial junction, and by glandular tissue throughout the endometrium was estimated with a point counting technique. The index of volume-to-surface ratio of endometrial glandular tissue was examined by a combination of point counting and linear intercept methods. No correlation was found between menstrual blood loss and endometrial and myometrial arterial density, endometrial glandular density and volume-to-surface ratio. Consequently, menorrhagia, occurring in the absence of obvious pathology, does not appear to result from an excessive number of arteries of from abnormal glandular distribution.

Adult↗

A functional study of platelets in menstrual fluid.

Platelets were isolated from menstrual and peripheral venous blood samples taken from nine women during the first 2 days of menstruation. The washed platelets were tested for their ability to aggregate in response to arachidonic acid, ADP, and collagen, and to metabolize arachidonic acid. Menstrual platelets differed from venous platelets in (1) failing to aggregate when challenged with aggregatory stimuli and (2) producing no appreciable cyclo-oxygenase products from arachidonic acid as reflected in thromboxane B2 release. However, incubation of peripheral venous platelets with menstrual serum obtained from the same patients induced aggregation. The responses of menstrual and peripheral venous platelets were the same irrespective of the patients' total menstrual blood loss. Uterine venous platelets collected during menstruation from two patients at hysterectomy aggregated normally and produced thromboxane B2.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Prostaglandins in menstrual fluid in menorrhagia and dysmenorrhoea.

Menstrual fluid was collected in vaginal cups inserted for 2 h during the first 2 days of menstruation and menstrual serum concentrations of prostaglandins PGF2 alpha and PGE2 were measured by radioimmunoassay. In 16 women from whom menstrual fluid was collected on both days, PGF2 alpha and PGE2 concentrations were significantly higher on day 1 than on day 2. The highest concentrations of PGF2 alpha and PGE2 were found in dysmenorrhoeic women on day 1. In non-dysmenorrhoeic women, the amount of PGF2 alpha and PGE2 collected in 2 h correlated directly with total menstrual blood loss. There was no statistically significant difference in the amount of prostaglandins collected in 2 h in pain-free menorrhagic women and dysmenorrhoeic women with normal loss. There was also no significant 9-ketoreductase or 9-hydroxydehydrogenase activity present in menstrual fluid which could suggest PGE2 to PGF2 alpha interconversion.

Adult↗

Consumption of fibrinolytic proteins in menstrual fluid from women with normal menstrual blood loss.

Fibrinolytic proteins in menstrual fluid collected from women with normal menstrual blood loss (less than 80 ml) were found to be completely exhausted. High levels of tissue plasminogen activator, fibrin(ogen) degradation products, and plasmin-inhibitor complexes were present, but little fibrinolytically active plasmin remained. No difference was observed between days 1 and 2 of menstruation.

Adult↗

Endometrial and myometrial prostaglandin release during the menstrual cycle in relation to menstrual blood loss.

Endometria and myometria were collected at hysterectomy from 42 women with measured menstrual blood loss. Specimens were obtained throughout the menstrual cycle [menstrual (n = 11), follicular (n = 9), early luteal (n = 6), midluteal (n = 9), and late luteal (n = 7)]. In vitro endometrial and myometrial release of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha), PGE2, and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha were examined using a superfusion technique. In the endometrium, the principal PG produced was PGF2 alpha, while in the myometrium, it was 6-keto-PGF1 alpha. Cyclical changes in PG release were found only in the endometrium, with an increase toward the end of the menstrual cycle and during menstruation. No significant correlation was found between menstrual blood loss (range, 4-840 ml) and PGF2 alpha, PGE2, or 6-keto-PGF1 alpha release in either endometrium or myometrium. Furthermore, there was no correlation between either the PGF2 alpha to PGE2 or the PGF2 alpha to 6-keto-PGF1 alpha ratios and menstrual blood loss.

Adult↗

Immunohistochemical localisation of cyclooxygenase in the human uterus.

The distribution in the human uterus of the enzyme cyclooxygenase,, involved in prostaglandin synthesis, was studied using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical technique. Specific staining was observe only during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle It was found that cyclooxygenase was localised in the surface and glandular epithelium of the endometrium but could not be demonstrated in the endometrial stroma, myometrium or blood vessels The location of specific staining for cyclooxygenase and its variation during the menstrual cycle was the same regardless of the amount of menstrual blood loss. Tissue samples obtained from early pregnant and postmenopausal patients failed to exhibit any specific staining.

Female↗

Fertilizer calcium as a factor affecting the voluntary intake, digestibility and retention time of pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) by sheep.

1. Pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) grown with and without calcium fertilizer was cut at three stages of regrowth to measure voluntary intake of dry matter (DM) and digestibility of various components of the dried-grass diet by sheep kept in metabolism crates. To determine the extent of a simple Ca deficiency half the sheep on each diet was supplemented with 1-4 g Ca/d. Retention times of the various dietary components in the reticulo-rumen were also determined. 2. Feeding a Ca supplement had no effect on voluntary intake or digestibility. 3. Ca fertilizer increased the Ca content of the grass from 2-2 to 3-8 g/kg DM and DM digestibility from 0-455 to 0-476 (P less than 0-01) due to an increase in the digestibility of the hemicellulose. 4. Voluntary intake was increased from 38-8 to 43-2 g/kg body-weight0.75 per d by Ca fertilizer due to an 18% reduction in the period of time the DM was retained in the reticulorumen. 5. Regressions relating voluntary intake to DM digestibility for the Ca-fertilized and control grass were significantly different (P less than 0-01). When compared at the same DM digestibility the voluntary intake of the Ca-fertilized grass was 2-6 g/kg body-weight0.75 per d higher than that of the control. 6. It was concluded that Ca fertilizer increased both DM digestibility and voluntary intake as a result of changes in the structural composition of the grass and not by a simple increase in the Ca content of the diet.

Animal Feed↗