Ovarian oxytocin and progesterone are secreted independently of one another.

Experiments were performed with cultured bovine granulosa cells to examine the relationship between the secretions of oxytocin and progesterone and to determine whether progesterone could be responsible for the progressive refractoriness of these cells to stimulation by ascorbic acid. Aminoglutethimide suppressed progesterone secretion by 95% but it neither reduced oxytocin secretion nor restored the cellular response to delayed ascorbate treatment. Addition of a high concentration of progesterone to the culture medium also failed to affect oxytocin secretion, its stimulation by ascorbate, or the endogenous secretion of the steroid. It is concluded that oxytocin and progesterone can be independently secreted and that progesterone regulates neither its own secretion nor that of oxytocin.