Endocrine Abstracts

Mechanical vagino-cervical stimulation (vcs) or mating stimulates hypothalamic neurons that regulate pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and the gonadotropins which affect decidualization, an essential for successful mammalian pregnancy, via induced ovarian steroidogenesis. Progesterone-regulated deciduomal growth is promoted by paracrine factors plus the uterine matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that remodel the decidual tissue, and nitric oxide (NO), a regul...