CONCENTRATION OF OESTROGENS AND ANDROGENS IN HUMAN OVARIAN VENOUS PLASMA AND FOLLICULAR FLUID THROUGHOUT THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE

1976 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. McNATTY ◽  
D. T. BAIRD ◽  
A. BOLTON ◽  
P. CHAMBERS ◽  
C. S. CORKER ◽  
...  

SUMMARY The concentrations of androstenedione, testosterone, oestrone and oestradiol-17β were measured in peripheral and ovarian venous blood and follicular fluid of women at various stages of the menstrual cycle. The concentration of oestradiol was similar in small follicles (diameter < 8 mm) at all stages of the menstrual cycle and in large follicles (diameter ⩾ 8 mm) except during the mid- and late follicular phase when the concentration reached a peak (∼ 1500 ng/ml). The concentration of androstenedione was lowest in large preovulatory follicles at mid-cycle at a time when the secretion into the ovarian vein was markedly increased. The concentration of testosterone in large follicles (⩾ 8 mm) was unchanged during the follicular phase whereas in small follicles there was a peak at mid-cycle. The rise in the concentration of testosterone and androstenedione at mid-cycle in peripheral plasma may be due to increased secretion by the preovulatory follicle into the ovarian vein. It is suggested that the relatively low concentration of androstenedione in follicular fluid of the preovulatory follicle arises from increased aromatization by granulosa cells in the course of oestrogen synthesis.

1975 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. McNATTY ◽  
W. M. HUNTER ◽  
A. S. McNEILLY ◽  
R. S. SAWERS

SUMMARY The concentrations of FSH, LH, prolactin, oestradiol and progesterone were measured in peripheral plasma and follicular fluid of women throughout the menstrual cycle. With the exception of prolactin, concentrations of pituitary and steroid hormones in follicular fluid correlated with those in peripheral plasma. Follicle-stimulating hormone was present in a greater number of small follicles ( < 8 mm) during or just after the peaks of FSH in peripheral plasma. During the mid-follicular phase the concentration of both FSH and oestradiol in fluid from large follicles ( ≥ 8 mm) was high. During the late follicular phase the large follicles ( ≥ 8 mm) contained high amounts of progesterone in addition to oestradiol, low physiological levels of prolactin, and concentrations of LH and FSH about 30 and 60% respectively of those found in plasma. By contrast no large 'active' follicles ( ≥ 8 mm) were found during the luteal phase although many contained both LH and FSH. Luteinizing hormone was present in a proportion of small follicles ( < 8 mm) during the late follicular and early luteal but not at other stages of the menstrual cycle. It is suggested that a precise sequence of hormonal changes occur within the microenvironment of the developing Graafian follicle; the order in which they occur may be of considerable importance for the growth of that follicle and secretory activity of the granulosa cells both before and after ovulation.


1986 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Bäckström ◽  
Agneta Andersson ◽  
David T. Baird ◽  
Gunnar Selstam

Abstract. A radioimmunoassay for 5α-pregnane-3,20-dione (5α-DHP) in plasma is described. The concentration of 5α-DHP in peripheral plasma during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle was of the same order of magnitude as that of progesterone (P). During the luteal phase, the plasma 5α-DHP was 8-fold higher than in the follicular phase and about 1/3 of the P concentration. The concentration of 5α-DHP in ovarian venous plasma draining an ovary containing the corpus luteum was 22-fold higher than the concentration in plasma from the contralateral ovarian vein. These results show that the corpus luteum secretes significant amounts of 5α-DHP.


1974 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. H. de Jong ◽  
D. T. Baird ◽  
H. J. van der Molen

ABSTRACT The concentrations of oestradiol-17β, oestrone, androstenedione, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and progesterone were measured in ovarian venous plasma from one or both ovaries in 4 normal women during different stages of the menstrual cycle and in 4 women with persistent ovarian follicles. In addition the steroid concentrations in peripheral plasma and follicular fluid were estimated. All steroids mentioned, with the exception of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, were secreted by the ovaries. The concentrations of oestradiol-17β, oestrone, androstenedione and progesterone were higher in the venous plasma from the ovary containing the developing follicle or corpus luteum than in venous plasma from the contralateral ovary. There was a good correlation between ovarian secretion of the oestrogenic steroids and androstenedione. Finally, the quantitative contribution of the ovarian secretion to the blood production rates of the androgens and progesterone was calculated. The only contributions exceeding 20 % of the blood production rate were those of progesterone and androstenedione during the second half of the cycle.


1989 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. McNeilly ◽  
D. T. Baird

ABSTRACT Changes in the plasma concentration of inhibin were measured by radioimmunoassay in ovarian venous blood collected at 10-min intervals for 5-h periods between 16 and 21 h and 40 and 45 h after cloprostenol-induced luteal regression in six Finn–Merino sheep. Episodes of inhibin secretion occurred with an interpulse interval of 66 ± 5 min in both stages of the follicular phase. These changes in inhibin were unrelated to pulses of LH or oestradiol. There was no relationship with plasma concentrations of FSH, which did not change in a pulsatile manner. These results suggest that the release of inhibin by the preovulatory follicle(s) occurs in a pulsatile manner and is under local control by unknown factors. Journal of Endocrinology (1989) 122, 287–292


1990 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Baird ◽  
B. K. Campbell ◽  
A. S. McNeilly

ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted to examine the effect of steroid-free ovine follicular fluid (oFF) on ovarian hormone secretion. Eight Merino × Finnish Landrace ewes in which the left ovary and vascular pedicle had been autotransplanted to a site in the neck were studied during the breeding season. Luteal regression was induced in all animals by injection of cloprostenol (100 μg, i.m.) on day 10 of the luteal phase. Four of the eight animals were treated with steroid-free oFF (3 ml, s.c.) in the early follicular phase, 24 and 36 h after injection of cloprostenol. Samples of both ovarian and jugular venous blood were collected at 4-h intervals from 20 h before until 96 h after injection of cloprostenol. Ovarian and jugular venous blood samples were also collected at 10-min intervals from 48 to 52 h after injection of cloprostenol to investigate the pattern of pulsatile secretion of ovarian hormones. Samples were assayed for oestradiol, androstenedione, testosterone and inhibin and the ovarian secretion rates calculated. Both injections of oFF resulted in a fourfold increase in the concentration of inhibin in jugular venous plasma within 4–8 h of administration (P < 0·01) with concentrations remaining increased (P < 0·05) until 56 h after cloprostenol (32 h after the first oFF injection). Following oFF injection there was a profound (100%; P < 0·001) and prolonged decrease in the peripheral concentration of FSH until 60 h after cloprostenol at which time the concentration of FSH increased five- to sixfold (P < 0·001) to a peak lasting 24 h. In contrast to FSH, the concentration of LH in jugular venous plasma rose immediately following oFF treatment and continued to increase, exhibiting a profile similar to that described for FSH. No preovulatory LH surge was detected in any of the oFF-treated ewes while untreated ewes had an LH surge within 58·0±1·2 (s.e.m.) h. Within 8 h of the first injection of oFF the ovarian secretion rate of oestradiol, androstenedione and inhibin began to decline to reach a nadir of less than 1 ng/min within 32–36 h (56–60 h after cloprostenol; P < 0·01). Testosterone secretion, already barely detectable, did not change significantly following injection of oFF but remained low for 36 h following oFF and did not exhibit the increase observed over this period in controls. After injection of oFF the episodic secretion of oestradiol, androstenedione, testosterone and inhibin was markedly suppressed in spite of numerous pulses of LH. Re-establishment of inhibin, androstenedione and testosterone secretion began from around 36 h after injection of oFF and continued to increase for the remainder of the experimental period (P < 0·001). The re-establishment of oestradiol secretion, however, took until 60 h after oFF treatment (84 h after cloprostenol). This increase in ovarian hormone secretion was temporally related to the decrease in the concentration of FSH and LH in jugular venous plasma that was observed at the end of the experimental period. We conclude that treatment of ewes with steroid-free oFF during the follicular phase of the oestrous cycle results in the immediate inhibition of the ovarian secretion of oestradiol, inhibin, androstenedione and testosterone. This effect can most probably be attributed to the depression in FSH that occurs following oFF injection, although the possibility exists that other factors present in oFF are acting directly on the ovary to inhibit follicular growth. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 127, 23–32


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 2301 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. F. Hunter ◽  
F. López-Gatius ◽  
O. López-Albors

Since 1980 several reports have indicated that temperatures vary between preovulatory follicles and other ovarian tissues in rabbit, cow, pig and human. However, these observations did not achieve prominence; they were regarded as artefacts due to the use of anaesthetics and open surgery (laparotomy). Recently, without resorting to anaesthesia or surgery, direct measurements of temperature in preovulatory follicles have been performed in the cow by means of a thermistor probe introduced into the antrum under ultrasonic guidance. Such follicles revealed a mean antral (follicular fluid) temperature 0.74°C and 1.54°C cooler than uterine surface and rectal temperatures respectively in ovulating cows, whereas no such temperature differences were detected in non-ovulating cows. Cows are predominantly monovular and preovulatory follicles attain a diameter of 15–22 mm or more. These features and the timescale of response to the preovulatory gonadotrophin surge make them a valuable model for the human preovulatory follicle. Temperature gradients are interpreted primarily in a context of final maturation of gametes immediately before the onset of fertilisation. Preovulatory follicular temperature in women could be assessed by a comparable approach and might become a valuable selection guide for oocyte viability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Martin ◽  
Kate Timmins ◽  
Charlotte Cowie ◽  
Jon Alty ◽  
Ritan Mehta ◽  
...  

Objectives: This study aimed to assess how menstrual cycle phase and extended menstrual cycle length influence the incidence of injuries in international footballers.Methods: Over a 4-year period, injuries from England international footballers at training camps or matches were recorded, alongside self-reported information on menstrual cycle characteristics at the point of injury. Injuries in eumenorrheic players were categorized into early follicular, late follicular, or luteal phase. Frequencies were also compared between injuries recorded during the typical cycle and those that occurred after the cycle would be expected to have finished. Injury incidence rates (per 1,000 person days) and injury incidence rate ratios were calculated for each phase for all injuries and injuries stratified by type.Results: One hundred fifty-six injuries from 113 players were eligible for analysis. Injury incidence rates per 1,000 person-days were 31.9 in the follicular, 46.8 in the late follicular, and 35.4 in the luteal phase, resulting in injury incidence rate ratios of 1.47 (Late follicular:Follicular), 1.11 (Luteal:Follicular), and 0.76 (Luteal:Late follicular). Injury incident rate ratios showed that muscle and tendon injury rates were 88% greater in the late follicular phase compared to the follicular phase, with muscle rupture/tear/strain/cramps and tendon injuries/ruptures occurring over twice as often during the late follicular phase compared to other phases 20% of injuries were reported as occurring when athletes were “overdue” menses.Conclusion: Muscle and tendon injuries occurred almost twice as often in the late follicular phase compared to the early follicular or luteal phase. Injury risk may be elevated in typically eumenorrheic women in the days after their next menstruation was expected to start.


1985 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Curlewis ◽  
M. Axelson ◽  
G. M. Stone

ABSTRACT The quantitatively major steroid hormones in ovarian and adrenal venous plasma of the female brush-tail possum were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The ovarian vein plasma samples all contained oestradiol and its concentration was highest during the pro-oestrous phase of the reproductive cycle. During this phase the concentration of progesterone was below the limit of detection but at day 13 of the oestrous cycle and pregnancy, the concentration of progesterone exceeded that of oestradiol. Cortisol and corticosterone were the major steroid hormones found in all adrenal vein samples with cortisol predominant. Androgens with a 3-oxo structure, if present, were below the limits of detection in all plasma samples. Radioimmunoassays for the measurement of progesterone and oestradiol in peripheral plasma were used to follow changes in the concentrations of these steroids during the reproductive cycle. Progesterone in serial blood samples was low at oestrus, rose gradually until day 7 and then increased more rapidly to reach a peak level of 21–29 nmol/l at around day 13. Any differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant cycles were minor. Oestradiol was only detected around oestrus when levels were variable (53·3±20·92 (s.e.m.) pmol/l; n = 4). The results indicate that the reproductive cycle of the brush-tail possum is characterized by a single peak of oestradiol at around pro-oestrus followed by gradually increasing levels of progesterone. Pregnancy appears to have no influence on the circulating concentrations of oestradiol or progesterone. J. Endocr. (1985) 105, 53–62


1996 ◽  
Vol 148 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
B R Leeuwenberg ◽  
N L Hudson ◽  
L G Moore ◽  
P R Hurst ◽  
K P McNatty

Abstract IGF-I was measured by RIA in plasma samples collected 8-hourly for 24 days which included two consecutive preovulatory surges of LH. In a separate study, ovarian venous blood was collected from animals undergoing ovariectomy on day 10 of the oestrous cycle, or 36 h later after being treated with prostaglandin with or without steroid-free bovine follicular fluid. Jugular venous blood samples were collected before, during and after surgery. Follicles were dissected from ovaries of these animals and sorted into categories of small, intermediate and large, non-atretic or atretic, and the follicular fluid was pooled and assayed for IGF-I. From another population of ovaries recovered from the slaughterhouse, granulosa, theca and corpora lutea were isolated, homogenized and assayed for IGF-I. Finally ovarian corpora lutea and granulosa cells were each incubated with tritiated amino acids overnight at 37 °C. Thereafter the tissues and media were sonicated, IGF-I extracted from the supernatant and tritiated IGF-I precipitated using a specific IGF-I antibody. The absence of any significant change in peripheral IGF-I concentrations following ovariectomy and the finding that the ovarian venous IGF-I concentrations (161 ± 10 μg/l) were not significantly different from levels seen in peripheral blood (157 ± 10 μg/l) indicated that the ovary is not a net exporter of IGF-I. However, the ovary does synthesize IGF-I, as evidenced by granulosa and luteal synthesis, but probably not in quantities in excess of that utilized by ovarian tissues per se. Although the plasma IGF-I levels increased around the second preovulatory LH surge, the results overall indicated that the IGF-I concentrations in plasma are not strictly related to any major ovarian event during the oestrous cycle in the sheep. This view is based on the findings that the concentration of IGF-I in follicular fluid was not related to follicular health but correlated with those in peripheral plasma and that the ovarian venous concentrations did not vary between left and right ovaries irrespective of whether the ovaries contained a corpus luteum, dominant follicle or neither. Collectively, these results are consistent with the notion that IGF-I of ovarian origin fulfils an autocrine/paracrine function and does not have an endocrine role. Moreover, the results show that the concentrations of IGF-I in follicular fluid reflect those in peripheral plasma. Journal of Endocrinology (1996) 148, 281–289


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