Department of Pharmacology, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, 29/39, Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, U.K. The decidual cell reaction (DCR) is thought to be induced by some substance released when the epithelium is exposed to the implanting blastocyst or an artificial stimulus, but the identity of the putative transmitter is obscure. It was at one time believed to be histamine (Shelesnyak, 1957), but this theory has been questioned (De Feo, 1967; Tachi, Tachi & Lindner, 1970; Finn, 1971). The prostaglandins (PGs), which have yet to be investigated in this context, possess a number of properties which make them plausible contenders for the transmitter role (Tobert, 1975). For example, they are released from tissues by trauma and other decidual stimuli (Ferreira & Vane, 1974) and may, through their action on cyclic nucleotide levels, be involved in the control of cell differentiation and proliferation (McMahon, 1974; Jimenez de Asua, Clingan
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Jonathan A. Tobert (1976) studied this question.
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