Identification and preliminary characterization of luteotropic activity in the rabbit placenta

The corpus luteum of the rabbit requires estradiol (E2) and the conceptus to maintain progesterone (P4) during the second half of pregnancy. The factor produced by the fetal placenta that is responsible for maintaining P4 production has not yet been identified. Therefore, the goal of these experiments was to determine whether the rabbit placenta contained luteotropic activity and to begin preliminary characterization of this factor. A bioassay system utilizing corpora lutea explants incubated with placental extracts and other treatments was developed and validated. Neither pooled placental extracts (200 micrograms) nor E2 alone affected P4 production (p > 0.05). However, the combination of placental extracts plus E2 significantly stimulated P4 production approximately 1.5-fold (p < 0.05). Skeletal muscle (200 micrograms) + E2 also had no effect on P4 production, indicating that the effect of placental extracts was tissue-specific. Carboxymethyl-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography of placental extracts yielded four separate fractions, which were examined individually at three doses for activity in the bioassay system. The first and most acidic fraction (Fraction 1) significantly stimulated P4 production at 10 and 100 micrograms when incubated in combination with E2 (p < 0.05). Both heat and trypsin treatment abolished the ability of placental Fraction 1 to stimulate P4 production in the presence of E2. Size fractionation of Fraction 1 using dialysis membranes with 3500, 6000-8000, and 12,000-14,000 molecular weight cutoff points had no effect on bioactivity of Fraction 1. These results indicate that the rabbit placenta contains a potential luteotropin with the characteristics of an acidic, heat-sensitive protein greater than 12,000-14,000 in molecular weight.