Effects of oestradiol-17beta and testosterone on progesterone production in the cultured granulosa cells of Japanese quail

In order to study the effects of steroid hormones on steroidogenesis in the avian ovary, quail granulosa cells were cultured with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), oestradiol-17beta or testosterone. The progesterone content of the medium during the culture period of 66 h and the following 3 h of incubation with luteinising hormone (LH), was measured by radioimmunoassay. When FSH, oestradiol-17beta or testosterone were added during the 66 h culture, subsequent progesterone production by the cells during 3 h of incubation with LH was significantly increased. However, testosterone also stimulated progesterone production in the medium during the 66 h culture period, whereas FSH oroestradiol-17beta did not. Addition of staurosporine during culture inhibited both LH-stimulated progesterone production and testosterone-stimulated progesterone production. These results indicate that the processes during which granulosa cells acquired responsiveness to LH, and testosterone stimulates progesterone production might both be mediated by a staurosporine-sensitive protein kinase C-dependent pathway in quail granulosa cells.