Oxytocin is luteolytic in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta)

Abstract

Oxytocin (10 mi.u./μl/h) or vehicle (0.5% chlorobutanol in saline, 1 μl/h) was chronically infused directly into the corpus luteum of normally cyclic rhesus monkeys, by means of an Alzet pump-ovarian cannula system. Infusion of oxytocin (N = 6) or vehicle (N = 5) began 6 days after the preovulatory oestradiol surge, and daily peripheral blood samples were taken. Oxytocin caused a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in progesterone, beginning 1 day after treatment, and oestradiol after 4 days; progesterone and oestradiol remained significantly depressed until menstruation. However, peripheral LH concentrations remained unchanged. The duration of the luteal phase, menstrual cycle and the onset of menses from the initiation of oxytocin infusion were significantly (P < 0.01) shorter when compared to those of vehicle-treated controls. These results show that oxytocin can induce functional luteolysis in the primate and supports the hypothesis that oxytocin of luteal origin may play a role in spontaneous luteolysis.