Oxytocin and Progesterone Release from Bovine Corpus Luteal Cells in Culture: Effects of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Insulin, and Prostaglandins

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Abstract
The ruminant corpus luteum synthesizes and secretes oxytocin, but little is known of the regulation of these processes in the ovary. In the present work we describe a method for the preparation of cells from the early bovine corpus luteum (1-5 days postovulation) and their maintenance in serum-free culture. The release of oxytocin and progesterone from these cells was increased by the addition of insulin or insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), but not by IGF-II. Hormone release (measured between 60 and 84 h of culture) was increased approximately 5-fold (oxytocin) and 2.5-fold (progesterone) by maximally effective concentrations of IGF-I (EC50, 0.27 nM) and insulin (EC50, 1.94 nM). Sustained exposure (0-84 h) to prostaglandins (PGs) caused a dose-dependent reduction in oxytocin release in the presence of IGF-I (PGF2.alpha., EC50, 31 nM: rank order of potency, PGF2.alpha. > PGE2 > PGE1), but did not markedly reduce progesterone release. The inhibitory effect of PG on oxytocin production was mimicked by sustained exposure to a protein kinase-C activator (phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate), supporting the proposed role for this enzyme as a mediator of PG action. These data provide the first demonstration that oxytocin release from early bovine corpus luteal cell cultures can be regulated by insulin, IGF-I, and PGs. Since granulosa and/or luteal cells produce and respond to IGF-I and PGF2.alpha., our data indicate functional interaction of these compounds in the regulation of luteal cell activity.