Human Reproduction, Vol. 8, No. suppl_2, pp. 107-111, 1993
© 1993 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Gonadotrophic and local control of the developing corpus luteum in rhesus monkeys
1 Division of Reproductive Sciences, Oregon Regional Primate Research Center 505 N.W. 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97006 2 Department of Physiology, Oregon Health Sciences University Portland, OR 97201, USA
Correspondence: 3To whom correspondence should be addressed
The actions of the mid-cycle gonadotrophin surge to convert the pre-ovulatory follicle into the corpus luteum are not well understood in primate species. In experiments titrating the surge duration required in macaque monkeys during artificial in-vitro fertilization (TVF)-related cycles, short (
14 h) LH surges similar to those in rodents and domestic animals failed to initiate peri-ovulatory events. Attenuated (24 h) surges, one-half the duration of spontaneous surges in primates, reinitiated oocyte meiosis and initial luteinization of granulosa cells. However, only surges of 48 h sustained luteal development and function to produce luteal phases of 
13 days. Three approaches—immunocytochemistry of steroid receptors, binding of radiolabelled steroid, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of mRNA—indicate that progesterone receptor (PR), but not oestrogen receptor, is expressed in the macaque corpus luteum. Studies on cells collected before and after the gonadotrophin surge identified a novel action of LH to induce PR expression in luteinizing granulosa cells. Thus, the LH surge requirements vary between non-primate and primate species, as well as between peri-ovulatory events, and the LH surge may promote cellular recognition of paracrine and autocrine factors (e.g. progesterone) that become predominant in the developing corpus luteum.
Key words: luteal development/luteal function/luteinizing hormone/oestrogen receptors/progesterone receptors