title: Pulsatile progesterone secretion: its relevance to clinical evaluation of corpus luteum function.
abstract: Pulsatile progesterone (P) secretory patterns were characterized in rhesus macaques (n = 13) during the midluteal phase (cycle days 18 to 20) of the normal ovarian/menstrual cycle. Sixty high-amplitude (greater than 1 ng/ml) P pulses were observed during a total of 169 hours of sampling. Typically, P pulses had an ultradian periodicity of 2 hours and were independent of detectable luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin (PRL) pulses in 70% of instances. LH pulses were associated with a concomitant P and PRL pulse in 100% to 80% of occasions, respectively. Pulsatile P release was augmented by exogenous cynomolgus monkey LH and suppressed by administration of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist. Two individuals with apparently normal ovulation and once daily plasma P concentrations within the normal range demonstrated a nonpulsatile P profile. These findings encourage clinical investigations to characterize pulsatile P secretion in normal women and patients in whom corpus luteum dysfunction is suspected.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008183:Luteal Phase; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone; D011388:Prolactin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone