Prostaglandins, clonidine and sexual receptivity in the guinea pig

Prostaglandins E1 and F2 alpha suppressed lordosis in ovariectomized guinea pigs brought into estrus with estradiol benzoate and progesterone. Pretreatment with clonidine prevented this action of the prostaglandins, but if the animals were first given prostaglandin and allowed to go out of estrus, then clonidine did not restore lordosis. In a previous study it was found that the abbreviation of estrus induced by copulation was also blocked by clonidine, again only if it were given before the inhibitory treatment. These results suggest tht prostaglandin, perhaps released from the female reproductive tract, could mediate the inhibitory effect of copulation, and radioimmunoassays of prostaglandin F2 alpha and its principal metabolite PGFM revealed substantial elevations in the concentrations of these materials in trunk blood after copulation. We discuss the possibility that prostaglandins may suppress sexual receptivity by interfering with an alpha-adrenergic mechanism.