Biology of Reproduction, Vol 25, 147-152, Copyright © 1981 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

A Role for Prostaglandins E in LH-Induced Cholesterol Depletion in Rabbit Ovarian Follicles

¹ Laboratoire d'Endocrinologie, Hôpital Notre-Dame et Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2L 4K8

Previously we had observed that indomethacin prevented LH-induced cholesterol depletion in rabbit ovarian follicles in vivo, indicating a role for prostaglandins in that LH action. In present experiments we have found that 1) pretreatment of the animals with either meclofenamic acid or acetylsalycylic acid, inhibitors of prostaglandin biosynthesis, prevented the LH-induced cholesterol depletion in the follicles; 2) administration of PGE₂, but not PGF₂, caused cholesterol depletion in the follicles and the effect was not blocked by indomethacin; 3) simultaneous administration of LH and PGE₂ resulted in the same magnitude of cholesterol depletion as was observed after their individual administration; and 4) cholesterol depletion caused by PGE₂ was in the ester moiety only, and this effect was similar to the earlier reported effect of LH administration.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by grant MA-1788 of Medical Research Council of Canada and by Fondation Notre-Dame. We are grateful to NIAMDD, NIH, Bethesda, MD, for a gift of LH; to the Upjohn Co., Kalamazoo, MI, for a gift of prostaglandins; and to Warner Lambert/Parke Davis, Ann Arbor, MI, for a gift of meclofenamic acid. We also acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Mr. Yvon Labelle and Mrs. Francoise Boulanger.