ABSTRACT
Activities of various hydrolases and dehydrogenases were studied during the formation, development and involution of cyclic corpora lutea and in the corpora lutea of early pregnancy. At 24 hours postovulation the luteal cells, whether of granulosal or thecal origin, contained demonstrable levels of Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and the NADP and NADPH2 diaphorases. During the period of proliferation and cellular growth, enzymic activities in the luteal cells were moderate at first, and then increased. In the mature corpus luteum, activities of the dehydrogenases occurred in all luteal cells but were most intense in the large polymorphic luteal cells. Activities of hydrolytic enzymes, low in the immediate postovulatory period, increased with the development of the vascular system. Enzymic characteristics of corpora lutea of gestation were similar to those of cyclic corpora, except for phosphorylase activity which was observed in luteal cells in gestational corpora, but confined to the vascular walls in cyclic corpora. No increase in activities of 17β- and 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (above those seen in pre-ovulatory follicles) were observed after incubation of sections of either mature cyclic or gestational corpora. Involution of cyclic corpora lutea began with degenerative changes in the blood vessels: pyknosis of the endothelial cell nuclei and a sudden decline in activities of hydrolytic enzymes in the vascular walls. Subsequently, the luteal cells showed a sharp decrease in activities of the dehydrogenases as well as other signs of regressive change. The cytochemical findings are discussed in relation to biochemical observations on steroid synthesis by the bovine corpus luteum.