EFFECT OF FASTING ON THE CONTRACTILE ACTIVITY AND METABOLISM OF LABELED GLUCOSE AND ARACHIDONIC-ACID IN UTERI ISOLATED FROM INTACT AND OVARIECTOMIZED RAT

The effects of fasting for 4 days on the isometric developed tension ( IDT) and on the metabolism of labelled glucose and arachidonic acid in uteri from intact and spayed (25 days) rats, were explored. Starvatio n produces a fall in the contractile activity of intact rats, while in ovariectomized ones, no differences can be see with respect to their controls. Fasting produces a fall in the glucose metabolism of both in tact and ovariectomized rats, being more noticeable in the former grou p. Indomethacin (5 x 10(-6) M) increases the metabolism of labelled gl ucose in all experimental groups, significantly. The metabolism of exo genous arachidonic acid into different eicosanoids, PGE,, PGF(2 alpha' ) 6-keto-F-1 alpha and TXB(2), shows that total food deprivation dimin ishes significantly the production of PGE(2) in intact rats. In contra st, in ovariectomized starved rats, PGE(2) increases markedly. The res t of the metabolites studied are not influenced by fasting. These resu lts show that the effects of fasting on the contractile activity and o n the release of some metabolites from arachidonic acid by the uteri i solated from intact rats are not seen in ovariectomized animals.