Chemotactic detection of incipient ovarian follicular atresia

Chemotactic activity was measured in the follicular fluid collected from normal and atretic Graafian follicles isolated from the rat ovaries. The atresia of Graafian follicles was induced by pentobarbitone injections for 3 days beginning the day of proestrous. The chemotactic activity, as measured by direct morphological evaluation of cellular locomotion of individual cells and Boyden leading front assay, was significantly higher in follicular fluid from atretic follicles and it showed a progressive increase from day 1 to day 3 of blockade of ovulation. In vitro exposure of blocked follicles to PMSG and hCG on day 1, 2 and 3 failed to alter the chemotactic response of leukocytes towards follicular fluid of atretic follicles. Increased chemotaxis in the follicular fluid after 24 hr of blockade of ovulation appears to form an important criterion to identify atretic follicles well in advance, before the morphological symptoms of degeneration become apparent and the incipient change once induced in follicles is not reversed by gonadotropins.