The role of oxytocin in luteolysis in the cycling mare

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that luteolysis in the cycling mare is effected by pulsatile releases of PGF2α from the endometrium during days 12-16 after ovulation, there is no clear understanding of how the luteolytic process is controlled, or what factors trigger the release of PGF2α from the endometrium, in this species. In the domestic ruminants, on the other hand, the control of PGF2α secretion is much better understood and consideration of the mechanisms involved in ruminant luteolysis has begun to clarify the picture in the mare. This paper reviews the evidence that, as in ruminants, oxytocin plays an important role in generating the endometrial PGP2α releases which bring about luteolysis in the cycling mare. © 1999 Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag,.