Deamino-oxytocin: inactivation plasma of women in labor.

Incubation of deamino-oxytocin with plasma obtained from women in labor reduced the potency of this analog of oxytocin when assayed on an isolated strip of mammary gland taken from a lactating rat. Plasmas of nonpregnant women had no detectable effect on this activity of deamino-oxytocin, and the effect of plasmas from women just previous to the beginning of labor was not significant. The original. activities of the incubated deamino-oxytocin solutions could be restored by treatment with hydrogen peroxide. The inactivation may be caused by reductive cleavage of the disulfide bridge of deamino-oxytocin, this bridge being reformed by oxidation.