Immunohistochemical localization of constitutive and inducible cyclo-oxygenases in rat uterus during the oestrous cycle and pregnancy

The uterus is a rich source of eicosanoids synthesized from arachidonic acid metabolism through the cyclo-oxygenase pathway. Two isoforms of cyclo-oxygenase, constitutive (COX-I) and inducible (COX-II) enzyme, have been reported. In the present study, we have immunohistochemically mapped the distribution of both COX-I and COX-II during various physiological states of the rat uterus. Uterine tissue was collected from female rats (a) during different stages of the oestrous cycle, (b) on days 1, 4, 8 and 18 of gestation, (c) after spontaneous delivery and (d) post partum, and fixed in Bouin's fixative. After paraffin wax embedding, 5-mu m-thick sections were immunohistochemically stained by the ABC technique. Observation of the stained sections under the light microscope revealed that, in non-pregnant rat uterus, both COX-I and COX-LI were abundantly expressed in the endometrium, with minimal staining observed in the myometrium. Staining was more prominent in epithelial cells than in stromal cells. The intensity of staining in epithelial cells was highest at pro-oestrus and oestrus and lowest at dioestrus. In pregnant rats, although the expression of both COX-I and COX-II was localized primarily to the endometrium with very little staining in the myometrium on day 1 of gestation, both of these enzymes were also apparent in myometrial cells by day ii of gestation. The staining intensity of endometrial and myometrial cells increased further with the progression of gestation, being maximal at the time of spontaneous delivery. During the post-partum period, however, the staining intensity for both of the enzymes in endometrium and myometrium was decreased. Thus, our studies show that the expression of cyclo-oxygenases in various uterine cells vary with the oestrous cycle and with pregnancy. Furthermore, prominent increases in the expression of cyclo-oxygenases in the myometrium during pregnancy and parturition imply that the cyclo-oxygenase system in the myometrium may play a major role in modulating uterine contractility during pregnancy and labour. (C) 1998 Chapman & Hall.