Development of steroidogenic activity in the ovary of the prepubertal hamster: II. Production of steroids from steroidal precursors and response in vitro to cyclic adenosine monophosphate and luteinizing hormone.

In vitro exposure for 2 h to 250 ng/ml of pregnenolone led to increased production of progesterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17 alpha-OHP) by hamster ovaries on Days 5, 10 and 15 of age. Similar incubations with 250 ng/ml progesterone or androstenedione caused significant increases in 17 alpha-OHP or testosterone, respectively. When testosterone was added in doses of 32.5, 250 and 500 ng/ml to ovaries on Days 5-30, as early as Day 5 the ovaries aromatized the androgen to estradiol. Day 30 ovaries were the most efficient in the conversion because antral follicles, the principal site for aromatization, were then present. In terms of progesterone production, 400 ng/ml of luteinizing hormone (LH) during 4 h of in vitro incubation stimulated ovaries on Days 5, 10 and 15. Cyclic adenosine 3':5' monophosphate (cAMP) at a dose of 1 mM and 5 mM stimulated progesterone production by Days 5 and 10 ovaries more efficiently than LH. However, Day 15 ovaries produced more progesterone in response to LH compared to cAMP. These experiments establish that the steroidogenic enzymes differentiate at a very early age in the hamster ovary, even before the appearance of gonadotropin receptors. The inability of the early postnatal ovary to produce steroids is apparently attributable to lack of precursors such as cholesterol or cholesterol side chain cleavage enzymes.