Role and site of estrogen action in follicular atresia.

Subsequent to an initial understanding that estrogen was only stimulatory to folliculogenesis, we have come full circle to the present recognition that many actions of estrogen are inhibitory to follicular function. The development of this interpretation has frequently been associated with the controversial issue o f the likely site o f estrogen action, especially in primates, where much of the evidence has been amassed. The accumulated findings in a variety of species seem to demonstrate clearly that at least part of the atretogenic effect of estrogen is exerted directly on the ovary, apparently by interaction with the nuclear estrogen receptor. Recent observations include identification of messenger RNAs for the estrogen receptor and for creatine kinase in the macaque ovary, and a current focus is to localize messages within specific compartments of the ovary.