Preterm labor and bacterial intra-amniotic infection: Arachidonic acid liberation by phospholiphase A(2) of Prevotella bivia

There is a strong association between preterm labor and infection, presumab ly through an increase in prostaglandin formation. The studies presented in this report were undertaken to evaluate whether Prevotella bivia, a common anaerobic isolate of intrauterine infection, stimulates arachidonic acid m etabolism, as a rate-limiting step for prostaglandin synthesis in the human uterine endometrium. When human uterine endometrial cells prelabeled with [H-3]arachidonic acid to an isotopically steady state were exposed to an ex tract of P. bivia, arachidonic acid liberation was stimulated, accompanied by lysophospholipid formation. Similar stimulatory effect on phospholipid d egradation was also observed in the experiment with the bacterial condition ed media which was spent as culture media. These results suggests that P. b ivia stimulates endometrial phospholipid metabolism, related with activity of phospholipase A,, which might induce the onset of labor associated with intra-amniotic infection. (C) 1998 Academic Press.