Effect of serum and 25-OH Cholesterol on the steroidogenic response of human granulosa cells.

DAIN L; GUERRRO H; POLAK DE FRIED E; TESONE M

Fertility and Sterility. Progress in Research and Practice

Rodriguez Armas (ed.). Parthenon Publishing, England

Año: 1994; p. 369 - 376

 Knowledge of human ovarian follicle development is a key to the success of assisted reproduction techniques. The production of follicular steroids is essential to oocyte maturation and maintenance of early pregnancy. Cultured granulosa cells obtained from preovulatory follicles stimulated with human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) produce mainly progesterone while retaining their ability to aromatize androgens. We demonstrated previoulsly that progesterone levels measured in serum-free culture media of granulosa cells disminished with culture time. It was suggested that this system maight not contain exogenous cholesterol, which is required for steroidogenesis by luteinized granulosa cells. The present work was indertaken to elucidate the reasons for the time-dependent decrease in progesterone production by human granulosa cells in culture.