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Query: UMLS:C0338671 (Steroids)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the present paper we report on an improved procedure for the preparation of free uterine cells which avoids the use of trypsin and employs very low concentration of collagenase. The cells released mechanically from the digested tissue are constantly removed from the enzyme containing medium, thus minimizing exposure to collagenase. 60%-70% of the cells which make up the intact uterus are obtained as free cells and 95% of these cells are viable for at least 15 hours at 37 degrees. Metabolic integrity was assessed by measuring the cell's ability to oxidize glucose and synthesize proteins over extended periods of time. The membrane leucine carrier protein and the membrane Na+/K+ ATPase were found to be fully functional. Electron microscopic analysis of the cells confirmed their structural integrity. Data are presented illustrating that with this system the estrogen binding protein is stable at physiological temperatures. The cells contain approximately 30,000 specific estrogen binding sites, with an apparent KA of 5--6 x 10(9) M-1. At 37 degrees 80% of the hormone receptor complexes were in the nuclear fraction, 20% in the cytoplasm. The similarity of the estrogen receptor binding parameters with those measured in the intact tissue after in vivo hormone adminsistration, together with the cells' structural and metabolic integrity make this procedure for the preparation of uterine cell suspensions in high yields particularly suitable for studies in which minimal cell injury is an essential prerequisite.
Steroids 1979 Apr
PMID:An improved procedure for the preparation of rat uterine cell suspensions. 22 Jul 54

Corpus luteum function in the cycling and the pregnant rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) was evaluated through short term in vitro studies of progesterone production by suspensions of collagenase-dispersed luteal cells in the presence and absence of exogenous gonadotropin (human chorionic gonadotropin, HCG). Cells from mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle secreted progesterone, as measured by accumulation of this hormone in the incubation medium, and responded to the addition of 100 ng HCG/ml with a marked increase in progesterone secretion significantly above basal level (63.7 +/- 13.1 versus 24.7 +/- 5.5 ng progesterone/ml/5 x 10(4) cells/3 hr, X +/- S.E., n =6 ; p less than 0.05). However, luteal cells from early pregnancy (23-26 days after fertilization) secreted siginificantly less progesterone than cells of the non-fertile menstrual cycle (3.6 +/- 2.4 versus 24.7 +/- 5.5 ng/ml/5 x 10(4) cells/3 hr, n =3 ; p less than 0.05) and did not respond to HCG with enhanced secretion. By mid-pregnancy (108-118 days gestation ) luteal cells exhibited partially renewed function, and near the time of parturition (163-166 days gestation) basal and HCG-stimulated progesterone secretion (30.2 +/- 5.6 and 63.0 +/- 13.0 ng/ml/5 x 10(4) cells/3 hr, respectively; n = 3) was equivalent to that of cells from the luteal phase of the non-fertile menstrual cycle. The data suggest that following a period around the fourth week of gestation, when steroidogenic activity is markedly diminished, the corpus luteum of pregnancy progressively reacquires its functional capacity and at term exhibits gonadotropin-sensitive steroidogenesis similar to that the corpus luteum of the menstrual cycle.
Steroids 1976 Apr
PMID:In vitro evaluation of corpus luteum function of cycling and pregnant rhesus monkeys: Progesterone Production by dispersed luteal cells. 81 45

Adipose tissue is a major, nonglandular site for the aromatization of androgens to estrogens. In this tissue, the aromatase activity resides primarily in the stromal cells, and we have used cultures of stromal cells to study the effects of insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) on aromatase activity. Adipose tissue, obtained during indicated surgery, was digested with collagenase, and the stromal cells were isolated and cultured. Aromatase activity was determined by measuring the tritiated water (3H2O) in the medium after incubating stromal cells with [1 beta-3H]androstenedione. Insulin and IGF-I had no effect on the aromatase activity in cultured adipose stromal cells at concentrations of 10 to 1,000 microU/ml. However, insulin (100 to 1,000 microU/ml) and IGF-I (500 ng/ml) markedly attenuated the stimulatory effect of (Bu)2cAMP, but significantly augmented the dexamethasone-stimulated aromatase activity. The greater effects of IGF-I compared with the effect of insulin are compatible with both effects being mediated through the IGF-I compared with the effect of insulin are compatible with both effects being mediated through the IGF-I receptor. In addition, the effects of insulin in attenuating the aromatase activity in adipose tissue could potentiate its role in hyperandrogenic syndromes in women.
Steroids 1990 Dec
PMID:Aromatase activity in human adipose tissue stromal cells: effect of growth factors. 196 38

The sequence of events within the ovary during the process of ovulation discussed in this review is schematically represented in Fig. 1. It is obvious that LH, perhaps with some contribution from FSH, is the normal physiological trigger for the ovulatory sequence of events, and it appears from the available information that the effects of LH are mainly mediated via adenylate cyclase and increased cAMP levels. The cAMP in turn, via cAMP-dependent protein kinase, influences at least three distinct steps in the ovulatory process which seem to be of crucial importance, namely 1) the stimulation of steroidogenesis; 2) the stimulation of cyclooxygenase/lipooxygenase leading to increased prostaglandin/leukotriene synthesis; and 3) the stimulation of plasminogen activator which catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin. A fourth crucial step in the ovulatory mechanism is the LH-induced increase in latent collagenase, but it remains to be determined if this step is mediated via cAMP. Concomitant with the increase in latent collagenase, there also appears to be an LH-dependent increase in collagenase inhibitors. The latent collagenase is then activated, and it appears that leukotrienes and prostaglandins, as well as plasmin, may be involved in this process. The active collagenase causes a digestion of the collagen in the follicle wall, and plasmin, as well as possibly other proteolytic enzymes such as proteoglycanases, may cause a further dissociation of the follicular wall. These processes of digestion of collagen and dissociation of the collagen fibers result in an opening in the follicular wall with the formation of the stigma and rupture. While the weakening of the follicular wall takes place throughout the entire wall, rupture remains for the most part a localized process at the apex of the follicle. This localization of the rupture may be explained on the basis of mechanical factors operating when the follicle wall thins and weakens. While it is clear that prostaglandins and leukotrienes can influence smooth muscle by causing contractions and that these compounds can cause vascular changes such as increased permeability, vasodilation, and vasoconstriction, it is not clear what the exact role of these latter processes are in ovulation. It appears that progesterone and not estrogen play an important role in the mechanism of LH-induced follicular rupture, but the locus of action of progesterone and its mechanism of action remains to be determined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Steroids 1989 Nov
PMID:Mechanism of mammalian ovulation. 255 97

A meshwork of collagen over the apical region of the follicle must be breached to permit the ovum to escape. We propose that specific collagenase activity is responsible for collagen breakdown in this region. Immature rats are primed with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG), followed at 48 h by hCG. At 8 h after hCG, collagenase activity, measured in extracts of ovarian tissue, is elevated about five-fold. Ovulation follows at 10-12 h. Ovaries from PMSG-primed rats are dissected at 48 h, placed in a perfusion apparatus, and perfused with luteinizing hormone and 3-isobutyl-1-methyl xanthine. The ovulations induced by this treatment can be blocked to the extent of 70% with a synthetic collagenase inhibitor. The activation of procollagenase is believed to involve plasminogen activator and plasmin. In support of this, we find that tranexamic acid at 1 mM inhibits ovulation about 70%. The inhibitor must be added within 3-4 h of LH to be effective. A specific plasmin inhibitor, D-Val-Phe-Lys-chloromethyl ketone, is similarly effective.
Steroids 1989 Nov
PMID:Connective tissue breakdown in ovulation. 255 98

To assess the role of inhibitors of proteolytic enzymes, such as plasminogen activator (PA) and collagenase in the ovulatory process, inhibitor activity and mRNA levels were examined in periovulatory rat and human ovaries. In the rat, immature animals received 20 IU of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) followed 52 h later by 10 IU of hCG. Ovaries were removed at intervals from 0 to 20 h after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration. Inhibitor activity for metalloproteinases, such as collagenase, increased from 60.5 +/- 4.1 inhibitor units/ovary at 0 h (i.e., time of hCG treatment) to a maximum of 218.2 +/- 11.4 units/ovary at 8 h after hCG before decreasing at 12 h (time of ovulation) and 20 h (122.2 +/- 7.9 and 71.6 +/- 8.1 units/ovary, respectively). Human follicular fluid and granulosa cells were obtained from preovulatory follicles of patients in our in vitro fertilization program. Metalloproteinase inhibitor activity was evaluated in follicular fluid as well as the levels of PA and PA inhibitor (PAI) mRNA by Northern analysis. Increasing metalloproteinase inhibitor activity was positively correlated with follicular levels of estradiol (p less than 0.001) and progesterone (p less than 0.02, N = 26). Chromatographic separation of follicular fluid resulted in two peaks of metalloproteinase inhibitor activity. The large molecular weight (MW) inhibitor had an approximate size of 700 kilodaltons (kDa) and may represent alpha 2-macroglobulin, a serum-derived inhibitor. The small MW inhibitor shared many of the characteristics of tissue-derived inhibitors of metalloproteinases. Partial purification of the small MW inhibitor by Concanavalin A-Sepharose and Heparin-Sepharose chromatography demonstrated the inhibitor to be a glycoprotein with an approximate MW = 28-29 K. Northern analysis of human granulosa cell total RNA from preovulatory follicles showed little or no detectable tissue-type PA or urokinase-type PA mRNA. In contrast, two species of PA inhibitor type-1 mRNA were detected in relative abundance. The present findings demonstrate the presence of proteolytic inhibitors in periovulatory ovaries of the rat and human. These ovarian inhibitors may play a role in regulating connective tissue remodeling during follicular rupture.
Steroids 1989 Nov
PMID:The role of ovarian proteases and their inhibitors in ovulation. 255 99

Three events lead to the ovulation of a normal oocyte: cytological and biochemical changes in the follicle wall, disintegration of the follicle apex and oocyte maturation. The remodelling of the follicle wall results from plasmin and collagenase activities. The thinning of the follicular apex, in addition to these enzymes, involves hydrolases liberated by dying ovarian epithelial cells. PGF2 alpha and histamine are also involved but it is not known precisely how they contribute to the apical dissociation. The nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of the oocyte is highly dependent on the synthetic activities of granulosa cells which are regulated by LH and FSH. The pulsatile secretion of these gonadotrophins is not necessary for the final phase of Graafian follicle growth and rupture. Why high levels of gonadotrophins, normally reached during the preovulatory surge, completely change the structure and the biochemical activities of all follicular compartments remains unknown and in fact has never been studied. Moreover, there is very little information concerning the mechanisms involved both in the increase of blood flow during the LH surge and later in the blood stasis at the follicular apex. Steroids, whatever their levels and ratio, are of little if any concern in follicle rupture and nuclear maturation. However, their importance has been clearly demonstrated in the cytoplasmic maturation of the oocyte of some species.
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PMID:Ovulation. 313 95

From PMSG-pretreated immature rats, dispersed ovarian cells were prepared with collagenase and DNase and incubated at 37 degrees C in McCoy's 5a medium under 95% air-5% CO2 atmosphere for 4 h. The activities of C17-C20 lyase measured in the 10,000 x g supernatant fluid of the cell homogenates decreased spontaneously with the lapse of time of the incubation. N,N'-Diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPPD, an antioxidant) and actinomycin D inhibited the decrease most effectively. Cycloheximide was also an effective protector. Accordingly, the spontaneous decrease of the lyase activity was caused partly by an oxygen radical-mediated process and partly by a mechanism involving de novo synthesis of RNA and protein. Addition of hCG to the cells further decreased the lyase activity to about half of the control group at 4 h. DPPD itself did not affect the hCG-induced decrease of the lyase activity. However, actinomycin D and cycloheximide prevented the effect of hCG. These results indicate that de novo synthesis of RNA and protein is involved in the latter mechanism, while oxygen radical is not concerned in this process. The decrease of the enzyme activity by hCG during incubation is in agreement with the in vivo effect of hCG upon the lyase activity. On the contrary, at the end of incubation the activity of delta 5-3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (coupled with delta 5-delta 4 isomerase) was more than 89% of that before incubation, and the change of the enzyme activity according to the various treatments was less than 16%.
Steroids
PMID:In vitro decrease of lyase activity in rat ovarian cells during incubation: effect of hCG. 345 47

Ovariectomized ewes were treated with either nothing or implants of estrogen (E), progesterone (P), or E + P. Epithelial and stromal cells from caruncular and intercaruncular regions of sheep endometrium were dispersed by collagenase digestion and enriched by Ficoll gradient separation. Verification of cell types was by electron microscopy, keratin staining (epithelial cells), cell size, and appearance in culture. Epithelial cells were cultured under optimized conditions with [35S]methionine (S-met) and uptake of label by cells and its incorporation into cellular and secreted protein determined. Protein in the medium and lysed cells was analyzed by two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Cells from E-treated animals had higher S-met uptake and incorporation into proteins (cellular and secreted) than cells from ewes treated with nothing and P-treated animals. E effects were not significantly reduced in the presence of P. When secreted protein was expressed as a percent of total incorporated S-met, P treatment either alone or with E increased the proportion of labeled protein secreted by cells. There were no significant differences between caruncular and intercaruncular. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of secreted proteins showed one major glycoprotein (mol wt, 46,000, isoelectric point, 5.8-6.5) and four minor proteins induced by E + P greater than E, and five minor proteins inhibited by the steroids. Both induction and inhibition of cellular proteins were also apparent, though of lesser magnitude. Overall, whereas E treatment in vivo influenced the rate of incorporation of S-met into proteins by epithelial cells in vitro, P treatment increased the proportion of newly synthesized protein which was secreted. Steroids caused significant alterations in the individual proteins secreted by ovine endometrium.
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PMID:The effects of estrogen and progesterone in vivo on protein synthesis and secretion by cultured epithelial cells from sheep endometrium. 404 79

In an attempt to justify use of trypsin to achieve more thorough dispersion of luteal cell clumps in vitro, progesterone (P) production by collagenase dispersed monkey luteal cells from the mid-luteal phase corpus luteum (CL) was examined in vitro either after 10 min, or continuous (3h) exposure to trypsin (TR). In the first experiment, cells were pre-incubated in TR, then incubated at 37 degrees C for 3h with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) after the addition of soybean-trypsin inhibitor (STI). Pre-incubation of luteal cells with TR had no effect on the level of P production under basal conditions. Cells that were preincubated with TR responded to hCG stimulation with increased progesterone secretion (P less than 0.01) in a fashion similar to untreated cells. P production in response to hCG was independent of TR concentration over the range of 0.05% to 0.2% during the pre-incubation period. However, continuous exposure (3h) of cells to TR significantly depressed (P less than 0.01) basal P secretion and inhibited the response to hCG. We conclude that TR had no effect on the biopotency of hCG per se, but probably the over-exposure to TR had an adverse effect on the LH/hCG receptors. Addition of STI after a 10 min pre-incubation with TR, prevented these deliterious effects, thereby permitting the use of TR to improve the completeness of luteal cell dissociation.
Steroids 1980 Jan
PMID:Progesterone production by dispersed monkey (Macaca mulatta) luteal cells after exposure to trypsin. 624 60


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