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Prostaglandins (PGs) and closely related compounds (prostanoids) are a family of lipid substances derived from arachidonic acid which have potent and diverse pharmacological actions. The result of much prostaglandin research over the past 50 years has been the demonstration of an ever increasing number of prostanoid structures. Some of these have actions which suggest a physiological role but there are also many prostanoid compounds without a clearly identified action and many are without obvious biological significance. In particular there has been little success to date in attributing a role to the major prostaglandins (PGs A to F). This is particularly apparent in reproductive physiology in which early work established high concentrations of PGE and PGF in human semen (von Euler, 1936) and in menstrual fluid (Pickles, 1957). The concentrations in semen and menstrual fluid probably represent the highest concentrations of PGs found in the human body and yet today we can do little but theorize on the role of PGs in the male and female reproductive tract. The problem lies in the complexity of PG mixtures found in the male and female reproductive tracts and may be because prostaglandin biosynthesis forms part of the arachidonic acid cascade (Text-fig. 1) which contains many strained and labile structures and there is consequent extensive non-enzymic breakdown of many of the PGs and intermediates. The reports of large quantities of PGs of the A, B, 19-hydroxy A and 19-hydroxy series in semen (Hamberg & Samuelsson, 1966) are, therefore, probably due to non-enzymic activity during storage. Because of the existence of these non-enzymic pathways, it would be prudent to consider which of them could participate in arachidonic acid catabolism to give the prostaglandins we observe. The PGE and PGF observed in human semen and human endometrium can be formed non-enzymically from the endoperoxides PGG and PGH (Hamberg & Samuelsson, 1974), and there may therefore be a pivotal role for the endoperoxides in both the male and female reproductive tract. This communication examines this possibility with particular emphasis on the secretions and content of the male accessory glands and the uterus.

Prostaglandin synthesis in the male and female reproductive tract