Porcine granulosa cell conditioned media as autocrine regulator of progesterone secretion

The ability of porcine granulosa cells to release a progesterone inhibiting substance(s) was examined in vitro. Granulosa cells (SGCs, MGCs and LGCs) were harvested from small, medium or large antral follicles respectively. The effect of granulosa cell conditioned media obtained from small follicles (SGCCM) was studied in the culture of LGCs by estimation of progesterone secretion; the conditioned media evoked the inhibition of progesterone secretion by the LGCs. SGCCM produced by various numbers of cultured granulosa cells showed a dose-related inhibition of progesterone production. A maximum inhibitory effect was noted when a 5-fold concentration of SGCCM was used. The addition of SGCCM had no effect on the growth of the cultured cells. The factor(s) inhibiting progesterone secretion appeared to be a nonsteroidal substance of molecular mass greater than 10 kDa and was heat-stable and trypsin-sensitive. The data presented support the suggestion that the conditioned media generated by primary cultures of SGCs contain nonsteroidal regulators capable of inhibiting progesterone secretion by cultured LGCs; this inhibitory activity can play an important autocrine regulatory role in the process of follicular differentiation.