The prostaglandins: Biochemical, physiologic and clinical considerations

Intensive study of the prostaglandins during the past fifteen years has indicated that they are ubiquitous in mammalian tissue and have potent physiologic activities, probably through an as yet incompletely characterized interaction with adenyl cyclase, in the endocrine, reproductive, nervous, digestive, hemostatic, respiratory, cardiovascular and renal systems. In addition, they may have a modulating effect on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Elucidation of these physiologic effects has suggested that an alteration in prostaglandin production or metabolism may be implicated in such disorders as infertility, dysmenorrhea, peptic ulcer, diarrhea, bronchoconstrictive disorders and systemic hypertension. A definite role for the prostaglandin compounds in human physiology and pathology must, however, await the development of methods for their precise identification and quantification. The recent synthesis of substances, structurally related to prostaglandins, capable of competitively and selectively antagonizing prostaglandin E 1 and F 1α may soon resolve some questions about the physiologic roles of prostaglandins. They have been used therapeutically in recent years for the induction of labor and therapeutic abortions, and their use has been suggested in the treatment of infertility, peptic ulcer, asthma, shock, hypertension and congestive heart failure. On the basis of the information already available, further detailed investigation of the action of these substances in normal man and in a variety of disease states should prove rewarding.