[Possible involvement of leukotriene B4 on human luteal function: special reference to determination of leukotriene B4 produced by cultured luteal cells].

The present study was undertaken to determine the production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) by cultured human luteal cells in the mid-luteal phase using a reverse phase column (C8). The luteal cells were cultured with or without hCG at 100 ng/ml for 8 days. In the preliminary experiment, methods for extracting culture media samples were assessed prior to radioimmunoassay. Reverse phase column C8, but not C18, made possible the determination of LTB4 produced by human luteal cells. Progesterone (P) production by cultured luteal cells reached its maximum on day 4 following exposure to hCG, and then declined gradually. The concentrations of LTB4 produced by luteal cells varied from 100 to 500 pg/10(5) cells/2 days. However, exposure to hCG did not affect LTB4 production by cultured luteal cells. The level of LTB4 in culture medium (115.0 +/- 37.8 pg/10(5) cells/2 days) was reduced on day 4, but increased thereafter. LTB4 production appeared to decrease concomitantly with increased P production of cultured luteal cells. In conclusion, cultured luteal cells produced considerable amounts of LTB4 throughout the entire culture period. These results suggest that lipoxygenase activity of luteal cells may be closely related to steroidogenic potential.