Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Role of Estrogen and the Placenta in the Maintenance of the Rabbit Corpus Luteum

  • Chapter
Regulation of Ovarian and Testicular Function

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 219))

Abstract

The rabbit is among those species in which the placenta secretes low or physiologically insignificant quantities of progesterone, and therefore, the corpora lutea must remain steroidogenically active throughout gestation (Hilliard, 1973; Thau and Lanman, 1974). If the young embryo is to survive, it must transmit a signal that in some way halts or overrides incipient luteal regression, reflected in declining serum progesterone values by 15 days after ovulation in non-pregnant animals (Keyes et al., 1983a). The subject of this manuscript is an exploration of the mechanisms that are responsible for placental maintenance of luteal function. We begin with a brief summary of the literature, setting the stage for the specific hypotheses and experiments reported herein.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abramowitz J, Birnbaumer L, 1979. Prostacyclin activation of adenylyl cyclase in rabbit corpus luteum membranes: comparison with 6-keto prostaglandin F1α and prostaglandin E1, Biol Reprod 21:609–616

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beling CG, Marcus SL, Markham SM, 1970. Functional activity of the corpus luteum following hysterectomy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 30:30–39

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bill CH, Keyes PL, 1983. 17β-estradiol maintains normal function of corpora lutea throughout pseudopregnancy in hypophysectomized rabbits. Biol Reprod 28:608–617

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bolander Jr FF, Fellows RE, 1976. The purification and characterization of rabbit placental lactogen. Biochem J 159:775–782

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Böving BG, 1961. Anatomical analyses of rabbit trophoblast invasion. Contrib Embryol Carnegie Instit Washing 37:33

    Google Scholar 

  • Browning JY, Amis MM, Meiler PA, Bridson WE, Wolf RC, 1982. Luteotropic and antiluteolytic activities of the rabbit conceptus. Biol Reprod 27:665–672

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Browning JY, Keyes PL, Wolf RC, 1980. Comparison of serum progesterone, 20a -dihydroprogesterone, and estradiol-17β in pregnant and pseudo-pregnant rabbits: evidence for postimplantation recognition of pregnancy. Biol Reprod 23:1014–1019

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Browning JY, Wolf RC, 1981. Maternal recognition of pregnancy in the rabbit: effect of conceptus removal. Biol Reprod 24:293–297

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burton K, 1956. A study of the conditions and mechanism of the diphenylamine reaction for the colorimetric estimation of deoxyribo-nucliec acid. Biochem J 62:315–323

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson JC, Gole JWD, 1978. CL regression in the pseudopregnant rabbit and the effects of treatment with prostaglandin F2α and arachidonic acid. J Reprod Fertil 53:381–387

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Challis JRG, Calder AA, Dilley S, Forster CS, Hillier K, Hunter DJS, Mackenzie IZ, Thorburn GD, 1977. Production of prostaglandins E and Fα by corpora lutea, corpora albicantes and stroma from the human ovary. J Endocrinol 68:401–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu JP, Lee CC, You SS, 1946. Functional relation between the uterus and the corpus luteum. J Endocrinol 4:392–398

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs A-R, Beling C, 1975. Evidence for early ovarian recognition of blastocysts in rabbits. Endocrinology 95:1054–1058

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadsby JE, Keyes PL, 1984. Control of corpus luteum function in the pregnant rabbit: role of the placenta (“placental luteotropin”) in regulating responsiveness of corpora lutea to estrogen. Biol Reprod 31:16–24

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gadsby JE, Keyes PL, Bill CH, 1983, Control of corpus luteum function in the pregnant rabbit: role of estrogen and lack of a direct luteotropic role of the placenta. Endocrinology 113:2255–2262

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • George FW, Tobleman WT, Milewich L, Wilson JD, 1978. Aromatase activity in developing rabbit brain. Endocrinology 102:86–91

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greep RO, 1941. Effects of hysterectomy and of estrogen treatment on volume changes in the corpora lutea of pregnant rabbits. Anat Rec 80:465–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haour F, Saxena BB, 1974. Detection of a gonadotropin in rabbit blastocyst before implantation. Science 185:444–445

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hilliard J, 1973. Corpus luteum function in guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice and rabbits. Biol Reprod 8:203–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman LH, 1974. Luteal regression induced by arachidonic acid in the pseudopregnant rabbit. J Reprod Fertil 36:401–404

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holt JA, Ewing LL, 1974. Acute dependence of ovarian progesterone output on the presence of placentas in 21-day pregnant rabbits. Endocrinology 94:1438–1444

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holt JA, Heise WF, Wilson SM, Keyes PL, 1976. Lack of gonadotropic activity in the rabbit blastocyst prior to implantation. Endocrinology 98:904–909

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holt JA, Keyes PL, Brown JM, Miller JB, 1975. Premature regression of corpora lutea in pseudopregnant rabbits following the removal of polydimethylsiloxane capsules containing 17β-estradiol. Endocrinology 97:76–82

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horton EW, Poyser NL, 1976. Uterine luteolytic hormone: a physiological role for prostaglandin F2α. Physiol Rev 56:595–651

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunzicker-Dunn M, Birnbaumer L, 1976. Adenylyl cyclase activities in ovarian tissues. II. Regulation of responsiveness to LH, FSH, and PGE, in the rabbit. Endocrinology 99:185–197

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kehl SJ, Carlson JC, 1981. Assessment of the luteolytic potency of various prostaglandins in the pseudopregnant rabbit. J Reprod Fertil 62:117–122

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes PL, Armstrong DT, 1968. Endocrine role of follicles in the regulation of corpus luteum function in the rabbit. Endocrinology 83:509–515

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes PL, Gadsby JE, Yuh K-CM, Bill CH, 1983a. The corpus luteum. In: Greep RO (ed.), Reproductive Physiology IV, International Review of Physiology. Baltimore: University Park Press, pp 57–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyes PL, Nalbandov AV, 1967. Maintenance and function of corpora lutea in rabbits depend on estrogen. Endocrinology 80:938–946

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes PL, Possley RM, Yuh K-CM, 1983b. Contrasting effects of estradiol-173 and human chorionic gonadotrophin on steroidogenesis in the rabbit corpus luteum. J Reprod Fertil 69:579–586

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lanman JT, Thau RB, 1979. Effect of the fetal placenta and of a rabbit pituitary extract on plasma progesterone in fetectomized rabbits. J Reprod Fertil 57:341–344

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laudanski T, Batra S, Akerlund M, 1979. Prostaglandin-induced luteolysis in pregnant and pseudopregnant rabbits and the resultant effects on the myometrial activity. J Reprod Fertil 56:141–148

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lytton FDC, Poyser NL, 1982. Concentrations of PGF2α and PGE2 in the uterine venous blood of rabbits during pseudopregnancy and pregnancy. J Reprod Fertil 64:421–429

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller JB, Jarosik C, Stanisic D, Wilson Jr L, 1983. Alterations in plasma and tissue prostaglandin levels in rabbits during luteal regression. Biol Reprod 29:824–832

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller JB, Keyes PL, 1976. A mechanism for regression of the rabbit corpus luteum: uterine-induced loss of luteal responsiveness to 17β-estradiol. Biol Reprod 15:511–518

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mills TM, Savard K, 1973. Steroidogenesis in ovarian follicles isolated from rabbits before and after mating. Endocrinology 92:788–791

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Neill JD, Johansson EDB, Knobil E, 1969. Failure of hysterectomy to influence the normal pattern of cyclic progesterone secretion in the Rhesus monkey. Endocrinology 84:464–465

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak RA, Bahr JM, 1983. Maternal recognition of pregnancy in the rabbit. J Reprod Fertil 69:623–627

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak RA, Wiseman BS, Bahr JM, 1984. Identification of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone-like factor in the rabbit fetal placenta. Biol Reprod 31:67–75

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Grady JP, Caldwell BV, Auletta FJ, Speroff L, 1972. The effects of an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis (indomethacin) on ovulation, pregnancy, and pseudopregnancy in the rabbit. Prostaglandins 1:97–106

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rippel RH, Johnson ES, 1976. Regression of corpora lutea in the rabbit after injection of a gonadotropin-releasing peptide (39320). Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 152:29–32

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robson JM, 1939. Maintenance of pregnancy in the hypophysectomized rabbit by the administration of oestrin. J Physiol 95:83–91

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scatchard G, 1949. The attractions of proteins for small molecules and ions. Ann NY Acad Sci 51:660–672

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spies HG, Hilliard J, Sawyer CH, 1968. Maintenance of corpora lutea and pregnancy in hypophysectomized rabbits. Endocrinology 83:354–367

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sundaram K, Connell KG, Passantino T, 1975. Implication of absence of hCG-like gonadotrophin in the blastocyst for control of corpus luteum function in the pregnant rabbit. Nature 256:739–741

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swanston IA, McNatty KP, Baird DT, 1977. Concentration of prostaglandin F2α and steroids in the human corpus luteum. J Endocrinol 73:115–122

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thau R, Lanman JT, 1974. Evaluation of progesterone synthesis in rabbit placentas. Endocrinology 94:925–926

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thorson JA, Marshall JC, Bill CH, Keyes PL, 1985. D-Ala6-des-Gly10 -gonadotropin-releasing hormone ethylamide: absence of binding sites and lack of a direct effect in rabbit corpora lutea. Biol Reprod 32:226–231

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wathes DC, 1984. Possible actions of gonadal oxytocin and vasopressin. J Reprod Fertil 71:315–345

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuh K-CM, Keyes PL, 1979. Properties of nuclear and cytoplasmic estrogen receptor in the rabbit corpus luteum: evidence for translocation. Endocrinology 105:690–696

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuh K-CM, Keyes PL, 1981. Effects of human chorionic gonadotropin in the rabbit corpus luteum: loss of estrogen receptor and decreased steroidogenic response to estradiol. Endocrinology 108:1321–1327

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Reproductive Endocrinology Program, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    P. Landis Keyes

  2. Department of Anatomy, Physiological Science and Radiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA

    John E. Gadsby

Authors
  1. P. Landis Keyes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John E. Gadsby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College Of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, USA

    Virendra B. Mahesh

  2. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Dharam S. Dhindsa

  3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Everett Anderson

  4. University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Satya P. Kalra

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Keyes, P.L., Gadsby, J.E. (1987). Role of Estrogen and the Placenta in the Maintenance of the Rabbit Corpus Luteum. In: Mahesh, V.B., Dhindsa, D.S., Anderson, E., Kalra, S.P. (eds) Regulation of Ovarian and Testicular Function. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 219. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5395-9_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5395-9_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5397-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5395-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation