Effect of forskolin and phosphodiesterase inhibition on prostacyclin-stimulated steroid production in goat ovarian cell types

Abstract

The effect of alteration of cyclic AMP pathway on prostacyclin (PGI 2)-stimulated steroid production in goat granulosa (G), theca (TH) and corpus luteum (CL) cells was studied in vitro . Isobutyl methyl xanthine (IBMX, 10 −3 M), a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, stimulated steroid production in all the cell type 4. IBMX enhanced the effects of PGI 2(l ug/ml) . Forskolin (F, 10 −7 −10 −4 M), an adenyl cyclase stimulator produced dose-dependent increase in progesterone (P 4)and estradiol (E 2) production in all the three cell types. When combined with IBMX, F produced further increase in P 4 and E 2 production. When F was combined with PGI 2 (1 ug/ml) the two produced highly significant (p<0.001) synergistic effect on P 4 and E 7 production in all the three cell types. These findings suggest that he stimulatory action of PGI 2 on ovarian steroid production is mediated through stimulation of adenyl cyclase.