Immunoreactivities of eNOS, ET-1 and ETB-R in blood vessels of the uterine mesometrium during the estrous cycle in the pig.

Cryostat sections of arterial and venous vessels from various size branches of the uterine artery and utero-ovarian vein of the pig mesometrium in different phases of the estrous cycle were stained immunohistochemically for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and endothelin B receptor (ETB-R) using ABC method. Immunoreactivity was evaluated according to 6-point scale under light microscope. The differences in immunostaining intensity in the endothelium of the vessels studied at various levels of mesometrium suggest a correlation of eNOS, ET-1 and ETB-R expression with the estrous cycle. In the follicular phase, the highest eNOS immunoreactivity was noticed in arcuate arteries and veins, while immunoreaction of ET-1 was much lower, just as ETB-R. On the other hand, the highest ET-1 immunoreactivity was observed during first 2 days afterovulation, while ETB-R showed low immunoreactivity level during the whole luteal phase. Vessels from the middle part of mesometrium (I degrees and II degrees branches) and large vascular trunks revealed similar staining for eNOS during the cycle as compared to arcuate arteries. Those vessels showed very high immunoreactivity levels for ET-I and ETB-R during first 2 days after ovulation. Our results suggest that during the estrus eNOS, ET-I and ETB-R play a significant role in the regulatory process of blood flow through the mesometrial vessels, that are connected to the uterine horn.