Effects of in vivo administration of steroids on release of 3H2O from [lβ,2β-3H] and [1-3H]androstenedione by isolated rabbit ovarian follicles

In vivo administration of progesterone and testosterone propionate to immature rabbits for 3 days resulted in a decreased ability of isolated ovarian follicles to generate 3H2O from [1 beta,2 beta-3H]androstenedione. By contrast, follicles isolated from rabbits treated with estradiol benzoate generated 3 times more 3H2O from the same substrate. Similar results were obtained when follicles were incubated with [1-3H]androstenedione. A similar pattern of differences was found when follicles from each group were analysed for estrogen content and when incubated with [4-14C]androstenedione and 14C-labelled estrogens isolated. These data suggest that estrogen may be a stimulant for its own production by rabbit ovarian follicles.