| Abstract: | The profiles of steroid hormones produced by ovarian cells from the domestic hen were examined. Theca cells from the immature, small white follicles (SWFT), the third largest (T3), and largest (T1) preovulatory follicles, and the ruptured, postovulatory follicle (POFT) were incubated for 3 h at 37 degrees with 3H] progesterone (Prog) or 3H] pregnenolone (Preg). Granulosa cells from the largest preovulatory follicle were incubated with 3H] Preg or were coincubated with theca cells and 3H] Preg. The production of specific steroid metabolites was determined on the basis of coelution of radioactivity with known standard compounds, using an isocratic high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. Granulosa cells converted 93% of 3H] Preg substrate to Prog. More Prog was utilized by T3 cells than by T1 and SWFT cells, either when 3H] Prog was the substrate or when coincubated with granulosa cells and 3H] Preg. The major metabolites of Prog were androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and an unidentified compound with an elution time of 53 min. The POFT cells metabolized 3H] Prog to the same extent as T3 cells did, but their profile of steroidogenesis favored production of the unidentified 53 min metabolite. SWFT cells utilized the least amount of 3H] Preg substrate. The results point to marked changes in enzyme activities in theca cells during maturation and following ovulation. |
