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Abstract
Studies on functional characteristics of the regressing primate corpus luteum (CL) to luteotrophic stimulus on day 1 of the non-fertile menstrual cycle are scarce. Recombinant human luteinizing hormone (rhLH) (20 IU/Kg BW; n = 10) or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (180 IU; n = 6) were administered intravenously to female bonnet monkeys on day 1 of menses. Exogenous treatment of rhLH or hCG caused a significant increase in circulating progesterone (P4) levels 2-4 hours post treatment (P < 0.05). Lutectomy prior to onset of menses confirmed that CL is the site of the increased P4 concentrations. Increased levels of phosphorylated P44/42 MAPK, MKK3/6 activation and concomitant histological changes were observed within 4 hours in CL of monkeys receiving hCG treatment. The results from this study demonstrate the acute progesterone synthesizing capacity of regressing monkey CL after LH or hCG challenge. This has potential implications for interpreting the steroidogenic response after gonadotropin stimulation tests in the early follicular phase of the normal ovulatory and anovulatory women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation protocols as part of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Dr. Basavanagouda and staff of the Primate Research Laboratory for assistance with surgeries. We thank Dr. Jayachandra Kadathur for his help in histology work.
Declaration of interest: Financial support from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to conduct these studies is gratefully acknowledged. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author contributions: Conceived and designed the experiments: PSS, RM; Performed the experiments: PSS, RM; Analyzed the data: PSS, RM; Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: RM; Wrote the manuscript: PSS.