The Effects of Prostaglandin E 1 on Fetal Pulmonary Vascular Resistance 1

Abstract

Summary

The effects of PGE₁ on pulmonary vascular resistance were investigated in fetal goats using an isolated perfusion technique on otherwise intact unventilated lobes. PGE₁ decreased perfusion pressure in the left pulmonary artery under conditions of controlled flow reflecting a decrease in pulmonary vascular resistance by vasodilatation of tonically contracted vascular smooth muscle. In our preparation, intrapulmonary PGE₁ infusion did not alter femoral arterial pressure which suggests that PGE₁ is inactivated in the fetal lung. Implications for PGE₁ in the newborn with respiratory distress and increased pulmonary vascular resistance are discussed.

The authors wish to thank J. E. Pike, Upjohn Co., for the kind gift of PGE₁; and W. G. Bunnell III and N. L. Murtha for their excellent technical assistance. This research was conducted under the guiding principles in the care and use of animals approved by the Council of the American Physiological Society and the National Institute of Health.