Effects of luteinizing hormone and dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in cultured granulosa cells from polycystic ovaries

The present study was undertaken to assess the ability of granulosa cells from subjects with normal and polycystic ovaries (PCO) to secrete progesterone throughout a 10-day culture period. LH levels in serum and follicular fluid from PCO patients were significantly (P less than 0.001) higher than those in normal subjects. In the absence of LH, progesterone secretion by granulosa cells cultured from PCO follicles did not differ significantly from that of cells from normal early and midfollicular phase follicles. Granulosa cells cultured from follicles from normal subjects in the early and midfollicular phases responded to LH (100 ng/ml) with an 8- to 20-fold increase in progesterone production. In contrast, LH increased progesterone production to a much lesser extent (up to 4-fold) in cells from the ovaries of patients with PCO. Progesterone secretion by granulosa cells from normal ovaries in response to LH diminished as intrafollicular endogenous progesterone and LH levels increased. Cells from PCO follicles cultured with (Bu)2cAMP (100 micrograms/ml) secreted progesterone in quantities comparable to those secreted by (Bu)2cAMP-stimulated normal ovaries in the early and midfollicular phases. These data demonstrate the discrepancy between the ability of granulosa cells from PCO and normal follicles to secrete progesterone in response to stimulation by LH and (Bu)2cAMP. These results suggest that in women with PCO, the persistent elevation of follicular LH may lead to impaired progesterone production in response to exogenous LH.