Okatani Y, Morioka N, Wakatsuki A, Nakano Y, Sagara Y
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kochi Medical School, Japan.
Horm Res. 1993;39 Suppl 1:22-7. doi: 10.1159/000182753.
The present study was undertaken to clarify the physiological role of the free radical-scavenger system in the control of estrogen production in the human ovary with age. Both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in the homogenate of the ovary significantly decreased from the premenopausal period to the menopausal period. The lipid peroxide content, however, showed a small and gradual decrease from the premenopausal to the postmenopausal period. In the premenopausal women, aromatase (Ar) activity in the microsomal fraction of the ovary showed a sharp decline and a significant negative correlation with age. Significant positive correlations were found between SOD and Ar activity, and between GSH-Px and Ar activity. Treatments of homogenate of the ovary with 10, 50 and 100 microM of H2O2 resulted in a decrease in Ar activity in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, treatment with 10 and 50 microM of H2O2 produced a more significant decrease in the Ar activity in the premenopausal women than that in the postmenopausal women. Treatments with 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 U of GSH-Px before administration of 50 microM of H2O2, on the other hand, induced a recovery of the Ar activity in a dose-dependent manner. The present study showed the inhibitory effect of peroxide on Ar activity, which was attenuated by GSH-Px. These results seem to suggest that these age-related, relatively free radical predominant environments in the human ovary may have an important role in the decrease of estrogen production through the effects on the Ar activity.
本研究旨在阐明自由基清除系统在控制人类卵巢雌激素分泌随年龄变化过程中的生理作用。从绝经前期到绝经期，卵巢匀浆中的超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）活性均显著下降。然而，脂质过氧化物含量从绝经前期到绝经后期呈小幅逐渐下降趋势。在绝经前女性中，卵巢微粒体部分的芳香化酶（Ar）活性急剧下降，且与年龄呈显著负相关。SOD与Ar活性之间以及GSH-Px与Ar活性之间均存在显著正相关。用10、50和100微摩尔/升的过氧化氢处理卵巢匀浆，导致Ar活性呈剂量依赖性下降。此外，用10和50微摩尔/升的过氧化氢处理时，绝经前女性的Ar活性下降比绝经后女性更显著。另一方面，在给予50微摩尔/升过氧化氢之前，用0.01、0.1、1.0和10.0单位的GSH-Px处理，可使Ar活性呈剂量依赖性恢复。本研究显示了过氧化物对Ar活性的抑制作用，而GSH-Px可减弱这种作用。这些结果似乎表明，人类卵巢中这些与年龄相关的、相对以自由基为主的环境可能通过对Ar活性的影响，在雌激素分泌减少中起重要作用。
