Tissue-specific and time-coordinated hormone regulation of plasminogen-activator-inhibitor type I and tissue-type plasminogen activator in the rat ovary during gonadotropin-induced ovulation

The plasminogen-activator system provides proteolytic activity in many biological processes. The regulation of plasminogen activation may occur at many levels including the synthesis and secretion of plasminogen activators (PA) and the specific inhibition of PA activity by inhibitors. PA-inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) is an efficient inhibitor of tissue-type PA (tPA) and urokinase-type PA (uPA) that may therefore be instrumental for the control of plasminogen activation. To investigate if coordinated regulation of PA and PA inhibitors take place in vivo in response to physiological signals, we have examined the regulation of PAI-1 and tPA in the ovary during gonadotropin-induced ovulation. We found that PAI-1, as well as tPA activity and mRNA levels, were coordinately regulated by gonadotropins in a time-dependent and cell-specific manner, such that a surge of PA-activity was obtained just prior to ovulation. Both theca-interstitial and granulosa cells synthesized PAI-1, but their maximal PAI-1 expression occurred at different times during the periovulatory period, ensuring inhibition of proteolytic activity in ovarian extra cellular compartments both before and after ovulation. The coordinated regulation of tPA and PAI-1 in the ovary may fine-tune the peak of PA activity which may be important for the regulation of the ovulatory process.