Rescue of the corpus luteum and an increase in luteal superoxide dismutase expression induced by placental luteotropins in the rat: action of testosterone without conversion to estrogen

The superoxide radical and its scavenger, superoxide dismutase (SOD), play important roles in the regulation of corpus luteum function. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether SOD is related to pregnancy-induced maintenance of corpus luteum function. Placentae obtained from rats on Day 12 of pregnancy were incubated for 24 h, and the supernatant was used as placental luteotropins. Pseudopregnant rats were given the placental incubation medium from Day 9 to Day 12 of pseudopregnancy. The treatment significantly increased serum progesterone concentrations on Day 12 of pseudopregnancy. Both activities and mRNA levels of copper-zinc SOD (Cu,Zn-SOD) and manganese SOD (Mn-SOD) in the corpus luteum were also increased on Day 12 of pseudopregnancy. Treating the placental incubation medium with charcoal significantly eliminated the stimulatory effects of placental incubation medium on serum progesterone concentrations and luteal Mn-SOD expression, but not on Cu,Zn-SOD expression. The inhibitory effect of the charcoal treatment on luteal Mn-SOD expression was reversed by supplementation with testosterone or dihydrotestosterone (DHT), but serum progesterone concentrations were recovered only by DHT. Testosterone or DHT alone had no effect on serum progesterone concentrations and luteal SOD expression. In conclusion, placental luteotropins increased SOD expression in the corpus luteum and stimulated progesterone production, suggesting that SOD is involved in the maintenance of the corpus luteum function by placental luteotropins. In addition, androgen, with other placental luteotropins, acted to stimulate progesterone production and Mn-SOD expression in pseudopregnant rats.