Follicular fluid lipoproteins in preovulatory period and their relationship with follicular maturation and progesterone production by human granulosa-luteal cells in vivo and in vitro

1991 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 737-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Volpe ◽  
G. Coukos ◽  
E. Uccelli ◽  
F. Droghini ◽  
R. Adamo ◽  
...  
1985 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kalison ◽  
M. L. Warshaw ◽  
G. Gibori

ABSTRACT To determine whether prolactin affects both luteal and follicular production of testosterone and oestradiol, pseudopregnant rats, either intact or hypophysectomized on day 8, were injected daily between days 8 and 9 with 1·5 i.u. human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), 250 μg prolactin or a combination of both. Control rats were given vehicle. On day 9, blood was obtained from the ovarian vein and corpora lutea and follicles were isolated and incubated in vitro for 2 h. Administration of hCG to intact rats increased ovarian secretion of testosterone and oestradiol dramatically, but did not affect progesterone secretion. Hypophysectomy on day 8 of pseudopregnancy was followed by a drop in ovarian steroid secretion. Prolactin treatment of hypophysectomized rats markedly enhanced progesterone production but had no stimulatory effect on either testosterone or oestradiol. In contrast, hCG dramatically enhanced ovarian secretion of both testosterone and oestradiol without affecting progesterone secretion. Prolactin administered together with hCG antagonized the stimulation of both testosterone and oestradiol secretion by hCG, yet increased progesterone production. When the specific effects of hCG and prolactin administration on follicles and corpora lutea were studied separately, it was found that hCG treatment in vivo greatly stimulated testosterone and oestradiol production by both tissues in vitro. Since hCG only marginally affected aromatase activity in the follicle, had no effect on aromatase activity in luteal cells and did not increase progesterone synthesis, it appears that hCG acts to increase the formation of androgen substrate for oestradiol biosynthesis. Prolactin, administered with or without hCG, inhibited both basal and hCG-stimulated testosterone and oestradiol synthesis by the follicle. In sharp contrast to its inhibitory effect on follicular production of steroids, prolactin appears to be essential for LH stimulation of testosterone and oestradiol by the corpus luteum. In the absence of prolactin, luteal cells gradually ceased to respond to LH and decreased their output of testosterone and oestradiol. Prolactin administration to hypophysectomized rats did not affect luteal cell production of either steroid. However, corpora lutea of rats treated with prolactin responded to the hCG challenge with an increase in testosterone and oestradiol synthesis. In summary, results of this investigation demonstrate that prolactin affects follicular and luteal production of testosterone and oestradiol in opposite ways. It acts on the follicle to inhibit both basal and LH-stimulated production of testosterone and oestradiol, yet it markedly enhances LH stimulation of testosterone and oestradiol synthesis by luteal cells. J. Endocr. (1985) 104, 241–250


1980 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Nordenström ◽  
Anita Sjögren ◽  
Lars Hamberger

Abstract. Immature female rats were injected sc with a single dose of PMSG to induce growth and maturation of ovarian follicles. In the morning of prooestrus the rats were given a single ip injection of LH (10 μg/rat) or 0.154 m NaCl, 2 h prior to sacrifice. Granulosa cells were isolated from the pre-ovulatory follicles and incubated in Krebs bicarbonate buffer, for 1 h with or without in vitro addition of various test substances. Following incubation the amounts of cAMP in tissue plus medium were determined. It was found that the isolated granulosa cells exposed to LH in vivo responded to the addition of LH in vitro with a production of high amounts of cAMP, i.e. these cells were not refractory to LH stimulation and in fact responded better than granulosa cells isolated from ovaries not exposed to LH in vivo. The addition to the incubation medium of follicular fluid (FFl) obtained from pre-ovulatory follicles decreased the effect of LH in vitro when added at a final concentration of 1% and completely abolished it at a concentration of 3%. Removal of steroids from the FFl did not influence the inhibitory effect and the addition of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor (IBMX) in vitro did not alter the results in principle. These results point to the existence of a factor in the FF1 which interacts with the sensitivity of the isolated preovulatory granulosa cells to repeated exposures to LH. Characterization of this factor is subject to further investigations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
D. S. Silva ◽  
P. Rodriguez ◽  
N. S. Arruda ◽  
R. Rodrigues ◽  
J. L. Rodrigues

The capacitation process occurs in vivo upon exposure of the spermatozoa through the female reproductive tract, but can be induced in vitro in the presence of several compounds. This study was conducted to assess the effect of heparin or equine follicular fluid on hyperactivated motility and in vitro induction acrosome reaction swim-up method with frozen-thawed stallion semen. Two hundred microliters of frozen-thawed equine semen was placed in a tube (45°C) to increase contact area and incubated at 37°C for 1 h. After incubation 800 μL of the supernatant was collected by centrifugation (500 × g, 10 min) to collect spermatozoa. The resulting pellet was resuspended in capacitation medium Fert-TALP supplemented with 5.0 μg mL-1 heparin or 100% follicular fluid and incubated for different times (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h) at 37°C. After incubation the hyperactivated motility and acrosome-reacted spermatozoa were evaluated. Hoechst stain was used to differentiate live and dead spermatozoa, and chlortetracycline (CTC) fluorescent stain was used to assess the capacitation response of sperm; data were analyzed by ANOVA. The effect of equine follicular fluid resulted in improved percentage of spermatozoa with acrosome reaction at all times of incubation (60, 63, 57, 52, and 58%) but immediately after 3 h of incubation, the hyperactivated motility decreased in heparin group and follicular fluid (42 and 30%, respectively).


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. González-Serrano ◽  
C. R. Ferreira ◽  
V. Pirro ◽  
J. Heinzmann ◽  
K.-G. Hadeler ◽  
...  

Information on how supplementation of high-yield dairy cows with rumen-protected fat affects fertility in cattle herds is scarce. Here, Holstein-Friesian heifers (n = 84) received a supplement consisting of either rumen-protected conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; cis-9,trans-11-CLA and trans-10,cis-12-CLA) or stearic acid 18 : 0 (SA) on top of an isocaloric grass silage diet. Two supplementation doses were used (100 and 200 g d–1). Blood and follicular fluid were collected at the start and end of the supplementation period for analysis of cholesterol, insulin-like growth factor (IGF), and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), and for fatty acid profiling. Although cholesterol, IGF, and NEFA levels did not differ among experimental groups, lipid profiles in blood and follicular fluid were affected in a dose-dependent manner by both supplements. After 45 days of supplementation, oocytes were collected by ovum pick-up (OPU). The mRNA relative abundance of target genes (IGF1r, GJA1, FASN, SREBP1, and SCAP) was analysed in single in vitro- (24 h IVM) and in vivo-matured (collected by OPU 20 h after GnRH injection) oocytes and in vitro-produced blastocysts (Day 8) by qPCR (n = 6/group). Lipid profiling of individual oocytes from the CLA-supplemented (n = 37) and the SA-supplemented (n = 50) was performed by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS). Oocytes from the CLA-supplemented (n = 413) and the SA-supplemented (n = 350) groups were used for assessing maturation and blastocysts development rates. In immature oocytes, CLA supplementation led to an increase of triacylglycerol 52 : 3 [TAG (52 : 3)] and TAG (52 : 2), squalene, palmitic acid 16 : 0, and oleic acid 18 : 1, and decreased abundance of TAG (56 : 3), TAG (50 : 2) and TAG (48 : 1). In vitro-matured oocytes showed different lipid profiles, with increased abundances of TAG (52 : 3), and TAG (52 : 2) as well as phosphatidylinositol 34 : 1 [Plo (34 : 1)], whereas phosphatidylglycerol (34 : 1) [PG (34 : 1)] and palmitic acid 16 : 0 were less abundant in in vitro-matured oocytes. SCAP was significantly down-regulated in in vitro-matured oocytes from supplemented heifers compared with their in vivo-matured counterparts. Maturation (CLA = 74% v. SA = 67%) and blastocyst rates (CLA = 22.4% v. SA = 12.7%) were different among experimental groups. One-way ANOVA and the Tukey-Kramer test were applied for a multiple comparison of means (P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant). In conclusion, we demonstrate here that fatty acid monitoring along different compartments (i.e. blood system, follicular fluid, and intra-oocyte) after rumen-protected fat supplementation of dairy heifer diet reveals nutritional footprints on oocyte quality and embryo development. These results demonstrate the close relationship between nutrition and cattle herd's fertility and, at the same time, support the role of the bovine model for understanding nutritional-dependent fertility impairments.


1985 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hillensjö ◽  
A. Sjögren ◽  
B. Strander ◽  
L. Nilsson ◽  
M. Wikland ◽  
...  

Abstract. Granulosa cells were obtained from human preovulatory follicles in 31 women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer due to tubal infertility. Follicular maturation was stimulated and synchronized by treatment with Clomiphene or human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG), or both, plus human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Follicles were aspirated by ultrasound guided puncture approximately 34–36 h after the hCG injection. The granulosa cells were washed and suspended in modified medium 199 containing 10% foetal bovine serum and cultured as monolayers for 6–8 days in the absence and presence of hormones and reactants. Progesterone formation was analyzed by RIA. In general, the cells underwent morphological luteinization and secreted high amount of progesterone. Under basal conditions the secretion of progesterone was highest during the first 2 days in culture and then gradually declined. Progesterone secretion was stimulated by human LH, hCG and the adenylate cyclase stimulator forskolin, with a maximal effect between days 2–6. The β-adrenergic agonist isoproteronol in preliminary experiments potentiated the stimulatory effect of hCG but had no own stimulatory effect. No clear differences in progesterone secretion or responsiveness to in vitro stimulation relating to the various in vivo stimulation protocols were found.


Steroids ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Stouffer ◽  
Wilbert E. Nixon ◽  
Bela J. Gulyas ◽  
David.K. Johnson ◽  
Gary D. Hodgen

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Wallace ◽  
CJ Ashworth ◽  
RP Aitken ◽  
MA Cheyne

Induction of ovulation post partum is associated with a high incidence of prematurely regressing corpora lutea. However, inadequate luteal function is not the sole reason for pregnancy failure, because ewes with normal corpus luteum function and successful fertilization also fail to establish pregnancies. The effects of suckling status and the interval from post partum to rebreeding on corpus luteum and endometrial function were examined in vivo and in vitro. Ewes were weaned early or allowed to lactate, induced to ovulate using a progesterone-impregnated controlled internal drug release device and an intramuscular injection of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin, and inseminated (intrauterine) at either 21 or 35 days post partum (n = 10 per group). A further 10 standard ewes whose interval from parturition was in excess of 150 days were included for comparative purposes. On Day 10 after insemination the pregnancy rate was determined in four ewes from each of the post-partum groups and five standard ewes. These ewes were then ovariectomized and hysterectomized for studies in vitro. The incidence of premature luteal regression, as assessed by progesterone concentrations in peripheral blood was independent of the suckling stimulus but dependent on stage post partum (21 days post partum, 6 of 19 ewes; 35 days post partum, 0 of 19 ewes; P less than 0.05). Luteal function was normal in all standard ewes. Ovulation rate, corpus luteum weight, corpus luteum progesterone content and basal progesterone production in vitro were significantly less in 21-day than in 35-day post-partum ewes. Pregnancy rates as determined on Day 10 or at term were low in all post-partum groups (7 out of the 38 ewes inseminated) compared with standard ewes (8 of 10). Uterine function was assessed by culturing endometrial tissue from the tip and body of each uterine horn in the presence of [3H]leucine for 30 h at 37 degrees C. Incorporation of radiolabel into non-dialysable proteins synthesized and secreted by the endometrium in vitro was independent of uterine horn location and suckling status but was significantly lower (P less than 0.001) in media from 21-day than from 35-day post-partum ewes. Irrespective of treatment group, incorporation of radiolabel was positively correlated with mean plasma progesterone concentrations on Days 2-10 after insemination and with basal progesterone production in vitro. Secreted proteins were detected by two-dimensional-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and fluorography.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Reproduction ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Mukhopadhyay ◽  
A. Kumar ◽  
R. Tams ◽  
H. G. Bohnet ◽  
F. A. Leidenberger

1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 2135-2142
Author(s):  
Lane K. Christenson ◽  
Richard L. Stouffer

Granulosa cells in the ovulatory follicle express messenger ribonucleic acid encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an agent that may mediate the neovascularization of the developing corpus luteum, but it is not known whether luteinizing granulosa cells synthesize and secrete VEGF during the periovulatory interval. Studies were designed to evaluate the effects of an in vivo gonadotropin surge on VEGF production by macaque granulosa cells (study 1) and to test the hypothesis that gonadotropins act directly on granulosa cells to regulate VEGF production (study 2). Monkeys received a regimen of exogenous gonadotropins to promote the development of multiple preovulatory follicles. Nonluteinized granulosa cells (i.e. preovulatory; NLGC) and luteinized granulosa cells (i.e. periovulatory; LGC) were aspirated from follicles before and 27 h after an ovulatory gonadotropin bolus, respectively. Cells were either incubated for 24 h in medium with or without 100 ng/mL hCG (study 1) or cultured for 6 days in medium with or without 100 ng/mL hCG or 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 ng/mL of recombinant human LH (r-hLH) or r-hFSH (study 2). Culture medium was assayed for VEGF and progesterone. In study 1, LGC produced 8-fold greater levels of VEGF than NLGC (899 ± 471 vs. 111 ± 26 pg/mL, mean ± sem; P < 0.05). In vitro treatment with hCG increased (P < 0.05) VEGF production by NLGC to levels that were not different from the LGC incubated under control conditions. In vivo bolus doses of r-hCG (100 and 1000 IU) and r-hFSH (2500 IU) were equally effective in elevating granulosa cell VEGF production. In study 2, in vitro treatment with r-hFSH, r-hLH, and hCG markedly increased (P< 0.05) VEGF and progesterone production by the NLGC in a dose- and time-dependent manner. By comparison, the three gonadotropins (100 ng/mL dose) only modestly increased VEGF and progesterone production by LGC. These experiments demonstrate a novel role for the midcycle surge of gonadotropin (LH/CG or FSH) in primates to promote VEGF production by granulosa cells in the periovulatory follicle. Further, the data demonstrate that FSH-like as well as LH-like gonadotropins directly stimulate VEGF synthesis by granulosa cells.


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