A Procedure for Evaluating Luteolytic Agents in Primates

Abstract

A method of human fertility control based on the regulation of corpus luteum function has been the objective of a continuing research effort by reproductive biologists. The vast array of physiologic control mechanisms governing the corpus luteum among the mammalian species presents a formidable obstacle in extrapolating concepts developed in animal research for clinical application in women. As an example the uterus clearly regulates the secretory activity and life span of the corpus luteum in infraprimate animals, but a role for the uterus in altering luteal function in primates has not been established. The importance of this biological distinction is illustrated by the successful application of prostaglandin F_2α (a physiologic luteolytic substance of uterine origin) to the regulation of estrous cycles in domestic animals (1), and the disappointing outcome of a clinical evaluation of this prostaglandin for control of the human corpus luteum (2).