Deciduogenic effects of mediators of the polyphosphatidylinositol pathway in pseudopregnant mice

Intraluminal injections (15 microliters) of either concanavalin A (125 micrograms) or ionophore A 23,187 (0.01 mumol) induced a decidual cell reaction (DCR) in the uterus of day 4.5 pseudopregnant mice. However, when these agents were administered in different combinations with each other or with CaCl2 (15 mumol) and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (1.6 nmol), interacting effects occurred to either enhance or inhibit each of the others' independent deciduogenic capacities. The results suggest that the polyphosphatidylinositol pathway and Ca2+ are involved in the induction of the DCR in mice with complex interactions occurring between the active components of the pathway to modulate the outcome of the transformation process.