Absence of effect of LH-RH on progesterone production by human luteal cells in vitro.

The physiological role of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) in mediating the secretion of gonadotrophins is well established. However, administration of large doses of LH-RH produces a paradoxical anti-fertility effect. Thus, in women, agonists of LH-RH have been shown to inhibit ovulation (Nillius, Bergquist & Wide, 1978) and interfere with corpus luteum function (Casper & Yen, 1979). The luteolytic effect of LH-RH raises the possibility of an interceptive role of this hormone in fertility control. There is little information on the effect of LH-RH on the human corpus luteum although in-vivo studies suggest that the corpus luteum is one of the sites of LH-RH action (Casper & Yen, 1979). The present in-vitro study examines the influence of LH-RH on human luteal steroidogenesis in short-term incubation.