This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Limited data suggest that the African green, or vervet monkey, could be a valuable alternate to macaque monkeys for basic and applied studies on reproduction that are of direct relevance to human health. However, little is known about the structure, function or regulation of the vervet ovary during the natural menstrual cycle. Therefore, studies were performed on adult, female vervet monkeys to: (a) examine the circulating levels and patterns of pituitary gonadotropin (follicle stimulating hormone, FSH; luteinizing hormone, LH) and ovarian steroid (estradiol; progesterone) hormones, plus ovarian histology, during the follicular and luteal phases of spontaneous menstrual cycles; (b) evaluate the importance of pituitary LH in controlling the function and lifespan of the corpus luteum during the menstrual cycle; and (c) investigate the role of the uterus in controlling the functional lifespan of the corpus luteum, e.g., via production of a luteolytic (prostaglandin F2alpha) signal. Daily blood samples were collected from untreated monkeys beginning at menstruation, from monkeys receiving a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist at midluteal phase of the cycle, and from monkeys following hysterectomy. Vervet FSH and LH were measured using heterologous radioimmunoassays and macaque gonadotropins as hormone standards and tracers. Steroid hormones were measured using specific electrochemoluminescent assays.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 492 publications
