Steroidogenesis by Recombined Follicular Cells from the Human Ovary in Vitro*

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Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine the production of progesterone (P), androstenedione (Δ4, and estradiol (E2) by recombined ovarian cell types from human ovaries under short term (4 h) and long term culture conditions (48, 96, and 144 h) in the presence or absence of added LH and FSH. The ovarian compartments that were cocultured were granulosa cells (G) and thecal tissue (T) from the same follicles, and G and stromal tissue (S) from the same ovary. It was found that G and T or G and S interacted with one another to increase the number of granulosa cells and, under certain conditions, to enhance (synergistically) the output of E2,Δ4, or PThe synergisms in steroid output from the G and T or G and S cocultures were found to be related to the size of the follicle from which the T and/or G were recovered, the length of time the tissues had been in culture, and the level of LH and FSH in the culture medium. A synergistic output of E2 was only observed for G and T from large follicles (≥8 mm in diameter) in the presence of elevated levels of LH and FSH after 4 and 48 h of culture and for G and T from small follicles (4 was noted in only a few of the recombination experiments, that is after G and T from large follicles had been cocultured for 48 h in the presence of elevated LH and FSH levels and after G and T from small follicles had been cocultured for 48, 96, and 144 h in the absence of added LH and FSH. A synergistic production of P was observed in most recombination experiments (G and T or G and S, with or without added LH and FSH) after 96 and 144 h of culture. For G and T from large follicles in the presence or absence of elevated LH and FSH, there was also a synergistic output of P after 48 h but not after 4 h of coculture. These data suggest that the peak secretions of E2, Δ4, and P from the human ovary may involve interactions between ovarian cell types of different origins.