The normal development and differentiation of the ovary determine the reproductive potential of the female. The pattern of ovarian differentiation is of two types depending on whether the germ cells of the ovary undergo immediate meiosis without previous steroid production in case of mouse, rat and hamster or delayed meiosis with steroid produced before meiosis starts in pig, sheep, dog and cow...

OBJECTIVE To assess gonadotrophin secretion, ovarian steroid production and ovarian reserve in PCOS women during the onset of reproductive decline, in order to characterize their ovarian function at this age. STUDY DESIGN Forty PCOS patients and 35 healthy women (35-40 years of age) were included. Clinical history, anthropometry, transvaginal ultrasound and a leuprolide acetate test (10 μg/kg...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the in vitro effect of endothelin-1 (ET-1) on the steroid production (progesterone [P] and estradiol [E2]) by cultured human granulosa cells (GCs) during aging. MATERIAL AND METHODS Human ovarian GCs and granulosa-luteal cells (GLCs) were isolated from ovaries of female patients (young and premenopausal) undergoing surgery for non-ovarian benign gynecological conditio...

Multiple signal transduction pathways mediating gonadotropin-induced testosterone and 17β-estradiol (E(2)) production were identified in carp ovarian theca and granulosa cells in short-term co-incubation. Inhibitors of voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCCs) and calmodulin attenuated human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)-induced steroid production, whereas modulators of adenylate cyclase and pr...

OBJECTIVE We propose that the adrenal gland of an older higher primate female animal model will respond to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone challenge by secreting additional dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). Such a response in surgically and chemically castrated animals will provide proof of concept and a validated animal model for future studies to explore the rise in DHEAS dur...

Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) and its specific receptor RXFP2 are both expressed by theca interna cells of the growing antral follicle where they form an essential regulatory element in the production of the steroid precursor androstenedione. Using primary cultures of bovine theca cells from the mid follicular phase together with steroid agonists and antagonists we have examined how ovarian st...

Inhibin and activin are structurally related dimeric peptide hormones and are members of the TGFsuperfamily of proteins. In the accompanying paper, we describe transgenic mice that overexpress the inhibin -subunit gene from a metallothionein-I promoter (MT) and examine the effects of the MTtransgene on gonadotropin levels and fertility. To characterize the effects of increased inhibin -subunit ...

Ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors are relatively infrequent neoplasms that account for approximately 8% of all primary ovarian neoplasm. Sex cord-stromal tumors of the ovary include granulosa cell tumors, fibrothecomas, Sertoli-Leydigcell tumors, steroid cell tumors, and sclerosing stromal tumors (SST). Sclerosing stromal tumors account for 2% to 6% of ovarian stromal tumors. Despite the rarity o...