Production of steroids by human ovarian surface epithelial cells in culture: Possible role of progesterone as growth inhibitor

Objective. The purpose was to investigate whether normal ovarian surface ep ithelial cells, harvested from premenopausal and postmenopausal women, are capable of steroid production, and to evaluate effects of estradiol and pro gesterone on growth regulation of such cells. Methods. Ovarian surface epithelial cells were obtained by brushing of the ovarian surface of 9 premenopausal and 10 postmenopausal women undergoing s urgery for benign gynecological diseases. The conditioned media after cultu re, with and without addition of FSH and LH, were analyzed for estradiol an d progesterone. The proliferative effects of the steroids were analyzed usi ng two different culture models, nonconfluent cells and confluent cells, an d two different detection methods, [H-3]thymidine incorporation and a color imetric method assaying cell number. Results. The normal ovarian surface epithelial cells were found to secrete both estradiol and progesterone, a production that was not regulated by FSH or LH. Addition of steroids to the cultured cells did not induce any overa ll significant growth effects. However, progesterone significantly inhibite d the growth of ovarian surface epithelial cells from three of the patients . Enhanced thymidine incorporation was observed in the presence of the prog esterone receptor antagonist Org 31710 in the nonconfluent cultures of cell s from postmenopausal women, but no effect of an estrogen receptor antagoni st was observed. Conclusions. The normal ovarian surface epithelium is capable of steroid pr oduction, which is also often observed in tissue from ovarian epithelial tu mors. Progesterone appeared to be a negative regulator of ovarian surface e pithelial growth, while estradiol had no effect. (C) 2001 Academic Press.