Progesterone secretion in the rat in response to an adjuvant arthritis challenge

✍ Scribed by Dr. Neal S. Latman; Vimal Kishore; Brent Bruot

• Book ID: 101646465
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 287 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780290315

✦ Synopsis

This study was undertaken to determine if progesterone is secreted in response to an adjuvantinduced arthritis challenge in the rat. While the arthritic rat paw volume increased 33%, the plasma progesterone concentration increased from 502 pg/ml in the control rats to 1,202 pg/ml in the arthritic animals. A strong positive correlation was found between the degree of edema and the plasma progesterone concentrations. We suggest that progesterone may play an antiinflammatory role in adjuvant arthritis in the rat.

The physiologic responses to inflammation can be: divided into 2 major types: proinflammatory and antiinflammatory. The proinflammatory response serves to eliminate or inactivate the inflammationin'ducing agent. The purpose of the antiinflammatory response is the control or limitation of the proinflammatory response. This provides the organism a measure of defense against self-inflicted damage. A major inflammation-limiting response is the secretion of the glucocorticoid steroid hormones.

Direct and indirect evidence suggests that some of the sex steroid hormones, progesterone and estrogem, may also exert antiinflammatory activity similar