The production of transforming growth factor-beta in the porcine ovary and its secretion in vitro.

Porcine granulosa cells isolated from small (1-3 mm in diameter) follicles proliferate rapidly in culture in response to 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) (10 ng/ml). Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) inhibits FBS/EGF-stimulated proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. We have used this proliferation inhibitory property of TGF beta to assay qualitatively, the presence of this growth factor in conditioned medium from cultured follicle cells as well as in partially purified preparations from porcine ovarian compartments. In addition, the concentration of TGF beta in the theca cell conditioned medium was quantitatively estimated by generating a TGF beta-dose-response curve (inhibition of FBS/EGF-stimulated proliferation of granulosa cells in monolayer culture) using authentic human TGF beta-1. Ovarian thecal cells isolated from small and large size follicles in the pig ovary secrete TGF beta-like activity in vitro. Medium conditioned by thecal cells in primary monolayer culture contains a latent form of TGF beta which can be activated by heat or acid treatment. In contrast, and unlike rat granulosa cells, porcine granulosa cells in primary monolayer culture do not secrete detectable levels of TGF beta-like activity in the medium. Incubation of heat-activated thecal cell conditioned medium with a TGF beta-neutralizing antibody (which recognizes TGF beta-1 and 2) but not nonimmune serum attenuated the TGF beta-like activity in thecal cell conditioned medium suggesting that this activity is due to authentic TGF beta. Since many cell types secrete latent TGF beta in the medium when cultured in vitro, we next investigated whether thecal cell secretion of latent TGF beta was a function of cell culture or whether the ovarian thecal compartment actually contained detectable levels of TGF beta-like activity. To this end, we used an acid-ethanol extraction procedure to isolate thecal proteins from fresh-frozen tissue. The acid-ethanol extracted protein fraction was mixed with trace amounts of 125I-TGF beta for detection and chromatographed on Bio-Gel P-60 column under acidic conditions. Elution of TGF beta bioactivity from the Bio-Gel P-60 column as measured by inhibition of granulosa cell proliferation correlated with the elution of radioiodinated authentic TGF beta. Preincubation of TGF beta-like activity-containing fractions with TGF beta-neutralizing antibody attenuated the proliferation-inhibitory activity in these fractions. TGF beta activity was also observed in fractions extracted from porcine corpora lutea.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)