Suppression of progesterone secretion in lactating rats by administration of ergocornine and the effect of prolactin replacement.

Abstract

In order to assess the stimulatory effect of prolactin on the secretion of progesterone from corpora lutea in lactating rats, ergocornine meleate (ECO; 1 mg/day), an inhibitor of prolactin secretion, was administered subcutaneously on days 6 and 7 of lactation in primiparous rats. By day 8 of lactation, the concentration of progesterone in ovarian venous blood fell to a undetectable level in the ECO-treated animals, while the concentration in the control animals was very high at this stage of lactation. The level of 20-alpha-hydroxypregn-4-en-3-one was significantly higher on day 8 of lactation in ECO-treated than in control rats. Lactational dioestrus was interrupted by treatment with ECO and vaginal oestrus appeared 3-4 days after the start of treatment. Administration of ECO caused deleterious depression of milk production and of food intake of mother rats. In the pair-fed control animals, lactation continued almost normally throughout the experimental period. Prolactin (1 mg/day) administered simultaneously with ECO increased progesterone to levels even higher than those in control rats and restored 20-alpha-hydroxypregn-4-en-3-oen levels to those of the controls. The effect of the drug on milk production was alleviated. The results strongly suggest that prolactin is the most important factor in maintaining the function of corpora lutea in the lactating rats.