Ultrastructural changes of the corpora lutea in LH-treated cyclic female rats.
As LH is capable of stimulating ovarian progesterone secretion at the beginning of 4-day cycles, it was the aim of this work to determine whether corpora lutea formed at the end of a preceding cycle are responsible for the increase in ovarian progesterone secretion. 4-day cyclic female rats were injected with LH on dioestrus I at 8...9 a.m. (64 microgram/100 g/b.w. expressed in terms of NIH-LH-S3). An increase in the peripheral blood progesterone concentration was shown to occur on the morning of dioestrus II in LH-treated females when compared to control females. Concomitantly enlarged mitochondria, numerous membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and a decrease in the number of lipid droplets were observed in LH-treated females. Inversely signs of involution of the corpora lutea were noted from the morning of dioestrus I to that of dioestrus II in noninjected females. It is concluded that LH-induced progesterone increase at dioestrus II results from the activation of the corpora lutea formed at the end of the preceding cycle.
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004031:Diestrus; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004971:Estrus; D005260:Female; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008055:Lipids; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats
D008055:Lipids; D011374:Progesterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone