Summary
Corpora lutea (C.L.) from normal and prostaglandin-treated pregnant hamsters were examined by light and electron microscopy. Luteal cells from pregnant control animals were hypertrophied and contained an abundance of agranular endoplasmic reticulum (AER) suggesting steroidogenic activity. Animals which were injected on day 4 of pregnancy had ovulated by the third day following the injection, hence, two generations of corpora lutea were present in the ovary. Luteal cells from the “old” C.L. of pregnancy underwent a progressive degeneration during the four days following the single prostaglandin injection, whereas, cells from “new” C.L. appeared viable in most respects. The presence of aggregated platelets in both “old” and “new” C.L. was noted. It is suggested that the “new” C.L. are responsible for the rebound of plasma progesterone reported in previous investigations three days following prostaglandin treatment in pregnant hamsters.
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The authors wish to thank Yvis Tablada and Elizabeth Underwood for technical, Mary Ann Anderson for secretarial, and Garbis Kerimian for photographic assistance. The authors would also like to thank Dr. John Pike of the Upjohn Company for supplying the Prostaglandin F2α used in this study
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Bagwell, J.N., Ziegler, J. & Ruby, J.R. The effects of prostaglandin F2α on the fine structure of the corpus luteum of the pregnant hamster. Cell Tissue Res. 174, 465–474 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00232833
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00232833