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To study the effect of the oocyte on the functional activity of granulosa cells, clear mature follicles of estrous rabbits were either punctured or ovectomized. Three days after treatment, granulosa cells of punctured follicles failed to show histological signs of luteinization. Six days after puncturing both oocytes and granulosa cells were degenerate histologically. Three days after ovectomy, granulosa cells showed histological characteristics of lutein cells. These lutein-like cells had disintegrated 8 days after ovectomy. The concentration of progesterone in the ovarian venous plasma 3 days after ovectomy was significantly higher than that present in the effluent plasma from ovaries with punctured follicles. The reverse was true for 20αhydroxy- 4-pregnen-3-one. Furthermore, 2 UV absorbent compounds, presumably steroids, were present in all ovarian venous plasma extracts of rabbits with ovectomized follicles and absent in all other extractsstudied. The identification of these 2 compounds is in progress. These results show that the oocytes may influence luteinization of the membrana granulosa and the nature and quantity of steroid produced by this tissue and possibly by the ovarian interstitial tissue.(Endocrinology87: 288, 1970)
El-Fouly et al. (1970) studied this question.