THE EFFECT OF RESERPINE UPON THE RATE OF EGG TRANSPORT IN THE FALLOPIAN TUBE OF THE MOUSE

Abstract

Reserpine is a tranquillizer and hypotensive agent (Plummer, Earl, Schneider, Trapold & Barret, 1954) which has been shown to influence uterine smooth muscle activity (Clegg, 1963). The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of reserpine upon the rate of transport of eggs down the Fallopian tube of the mouse. A stock solution was made by dissolving 300 mg reserpine and 375 mg citric acid in 6 ml benzyl alcohol with gentle warming. A volume of 15 ml of Tween 80 was added. After cooling, the final volume was adjusted to 100 ml with distilled water, and the solution protected from light. This reserpine stock solution was diluted with distilled water immediately before use to adjust the dose volume to 10 ml/kg body weight. Specific pathogen-free mice were obtained from colonies in our laboratories. Pregnant female mice were killed on a defined day of pregnancy after dosing with reserpine and the reproductive tract removed, the morning on which the vaginal plug was observed being designated the 1st day of pregnancy. The Fallopian tubes were straightened and mounted in normal saline. The contained eggs were visible within the tube (Pl. 1, Fig. 1). Since back and forth movement of the eggs was of very low frequency immediately after mounting, the positions of the first and last eggs could be measured together with the total length of the tube, using a moving-stage microscope with a vernier scale. The percentage of the tube length travelled by the first and last eggs was calculated from the measurements obtained; the mean values were taken to indicate the position of the centre of the group of eggs. The uterine horns were flushed with normal saline and the recovered eggs counted. In a preliminary study, varying dose levels of reserpine were administered by intraperitoneal injection on the 1st day of pregnancy, using a dose ratio of 2\m=.\0.