Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of cyclodextrin-encapsulated beta-carotene on basal or cholesterol (cyclodextrin-encapsulated), LH and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP)-stimulated progesterone production by bovine corpus luteum cells isolated from mid-luteal heifer ovaries by collagenase digestion. Cells were cultured with serum-free DMEM/Ham's F12 medium in serum pre-treated plast...

Although it is clear that high density lipoproteins (HDL) can support steroidogenesis in several rat cell systems, questions still arise as to how HDL are processed by cells. In particular, it is not yet clear whether HDL are internalized by a pathway similar to that used for low density lipoproteins. This issue was examined in the present study using the luteinized ovaries of hormone-primed im...

The presence of adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphate was demonstrated in bovine luteal tissue. The addition of luteinizing hormone to incubating slices of a bovine corpus luteum caused a rapid accumulation of this cyclic nucleotide which preceded the increase in progesterone synthesis. This effect appeared to be specific for luteinizing hormone. Puromycin did not inhibit this action of luteinizing hor...

The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cytochrome P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme and specific 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/delta5-delta4 isomerases initiate the essential process of steroidogenesis in the gonads. Testicular and ovarian expression of their respective genes, STARD1, CYP11A1 and gonadal HSD3B, is primarily controlled by gonadotropins with contributions by v...

Excessive exposure to glucocorticoids can alter ovarian function by modulating oogenesis, folliculogenesis and steroidogenesis. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of dexamethasone (DEX) administered during pregnancy on folliculogenesis and corpus luteum development in the postpartum spiny mouse ovary. DEX (125 μg kg-1 body weight per day) was applied to pregnant spiny mouse...

The response of steroidogenic tissues to tropic hormones is regulated in part by specific receptors in the target cells for the stimulatory hormone. As a result of hormone binding to receptor the enzyme adenylate cyclase is activated with a resultant increase in intracellular levels of cAMP. Enhanced protein kinase activity then leads to increased steroidogenesis via several possible mechanisms...

Because caspase-3 is considered a primary executioner of apoptosis and has been implicated as a mediator of luteal regression, we hypothesized that corpora lutea (CL) derived from caspase-3 null mice would exhibit a delayed onset of apoptosis during luteal regression, when compared with CL derived from wild-type (WT) mice. To test this hypothesis, ovulation was synchronized in immature (postpar...

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), may mediate the dramatic structural and functional changes in the corpus luteum (CL) over the course of its life span. In addition to regulating MMP activity, TIMPs are also involved in a variety of cellular processes, including cell proliferation and steroidogenesis. In a seri...

BACKGROUND Main function of corpus luteum is progesterone synthesis that is significantly accompanied with an increase in levels of mRNA encoding of steroidogenic enzymes known as luteal markers. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to evaluate effects of lithium chloride on the release of steroid hormones and steroidogenic enzymes in gonadotropin-stimulated rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Immatur...