Metabolism of prostaglandins by the nonpregnant human uterus.

We investigated the ability of the nonpregnant human uterus to metabolize prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha (PGE2 and PGF2 alpha) using radiolabeled substrates together with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the measurement of specific metabolites. Both the 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase and the delta 13-reductase enzymes are present in endometrium and myometrium. As shown for other tissues, the dehydrogenase is NAD+ dependent, while the delta 13-reductase requires NADPH as cofactor. PGE2 was the preferred substrate in both tissues; however, the metabolizing capacity of follicular phase myometrium was comparable with that of midluteal phase endometrium. The Km values of the dehydrogenase for PGE2 and PGF2 alpha were similar in both endometrium (1.89 X 10(-6) and 18.52 X 10(-6) mol/liter, respectively) and myometrium (2.76 X 10(-6) and 11.64 X 10(-6) mol/liter, respectively), suggesting that the same enzyme is present in both tissues although the regulation of this enzyme may differ in endometrium and myometrium.