Topographical specialization of prostaglandin function in late pregnancy and at parturition in the baboon.

Prostaglandins play key central roles in both the maintenance of pregnancy and parturition. Extensive data exist from studies in human pregnancy but the needs of clinical management and the inability to conduct carefully controlled perturbation studies in human pregnancy make it necessary to obtain information from nonhuman primate models. We have used the pregnant baboon to evaluate production, metabolism and receptor mediated actions of prostaglandins in late gestation to demonstrate that expression of key genes is tightly controlled in enzyme-specific, gestation age-specific, tissue-specific and uterine region-specific fashion.