Levonorgestrel inhibits luteinizing hormone-stimulated progesterone production in rat luteal cells

The effects of the synthetic progestin levonorgestrel (LNG) on basal and LH-stimulated progesterone production were studied in collagenase-dispersed luteal cells obtained from 9-day pregnant rats. Luteal cells responded to ovine LH (oLH) with an increase in progesterone output which was maximal at a dose of 100 ng/ml. No effect of LNG was observed at 0.1-10 microM, but at 100 microM, it inhibited basal progesterone production. On the Other hand, a dose of 10 microM LNG suppressed the stimulation of progesterone secretion induced by oLH, dibutyryl-cAMP and pregnenolone. It is suggested that the possible mechanism of action of the progestin involves a post-cAMP site and, in some way, may lead to an interference with 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity, which catalyzes the formation of progesterone from pregnenolone, the last step of progesterone biosynthesis. This study provides a different point of view supporting an autocrine control mechanism by which progesterone, the principal steroidogenic product of luteal cells, may exert a negative ultra-short loop regulation of its own biosynthesis.