Oxygen dependency of preovulatory follicles from pregnant mare serum gonadotropin-treated immature rats.

The present study was initiated to test to what extent preovulatory follicles are dependent on oxygen supply for maintaining their response to luteinizing hormone (LH). Female rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain were injected with 6 IU of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) on their 26th day of life. For in vitro experiments rats were killed 48-52 h after PMSG injection. Preovulatory follicles were dissected free, pre-incubated for 30 min and then incubated for 3 h without or with luteinizing hormone (LH, 1 microgram ml-1 medium) under different oxygen tensions in the gas phase (100, 13, 6 and 0 kPa). After incubation the accumulation of progesterone, cyclic-3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and lactic acid were measured in the incubation media. Follicular adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) content was measured in vivo (48-60 h after PMSG injection) immediately after isolation as well as after the incubation. Follicles isolated in vivo, during and after the ovulatory endogenous gonadotropin surge showed a depression in follicular ATP levels compared with levels before, suggesting that gonadotropins stimulate the follicle on the expense of ATP levels during the course of the preovulatory day. During a step-wise decrease of oxygen tension in vitro the preovulatory follicle maintained its response to LH as measured by progesterone and cyclic AMP accumulation. The preovulatory follicle could apparently compensate by increasing glycolysis, as measured by an increase in lactic acid accumulation. Tissue ATP levels were during these conditions maintained.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)