2-bromopalmitate inhibition of stimulatory effect on LH in isolated luteal cells

The effect of 2-bromopalmitate, an inhibitor of fatty acids oxidation, on progesterone synthesis in isolated luteal cells was studied. Incubation of the cells with increasing concentrations (0 - 2 mM) of the inhibitor resulted in an initial enhancement of progesterone synthesis, both in the presence and absence of LH (1 microgram/ml). In the LH-treated cells, this stimulation in steroid synthesis becomes markedly impaired at 2 mM 2-bromopalmitate. In the control cells, however, progesterone synthesis was sustained at the elevated level. At high concentrations of 2-bromopalmitate, the stimulatory effect of LH (relative to the controls) on steroidogenesis was progressively diminished, until it was completely abolished at an inhibitor concentration of 2 mM. The oxidation of labelled palmitic acid by luteal cells was also effectively inhibited by 2-bromopalmitate (1 mM). The results indicate that the steroidogenic effect of LH is mediated, in part, by fatty acid oxidation, and were explained in terms of the interaction between carbohydrate and fatty acid oxidation in supporting ovarian steroidogenesis.