[Effects of 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) on progesterone and prostaglandin production by human corpora lutea].

The present study was undertaken to assess the effects of 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) on steroidogenesis and prostaglandin (PG) production in cultured luteal cells derived from human corpora lutea in the mid-luteal phase. The luteal cells were cultured with 5-HETE at 10, 100, 500, or 1,000 ng/ml in the absence or presence of hCG at 100 ng/ml for 10 days. The addition of 5-HETE to the culture media did not affect growth curves of cultured luteal cells. 5-HETE significantly inhibited progesterone (P) production by cultured luteal cells in a dose-related fashion on day 2. P production stimulated by exposure to hCG was also reduced significantly in response to 5-HETE. The addition of 5-HETE did not affect estradiol production by cultured luteal cells. The production of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha by cultured luteal cells in the presence of 5-HETE was slightly but not significantly less than that observed in the absence of 5-HETE. However, 5-HETE affects neither PGF2 alpha nor PGE2 production by cultured luteal cells throughout the culture period. The present study demonstrates that 5-HETE inhibits P production in cultured luteal cells by a mechanism(s) other than through PG production. These data suggest the involvement of a lipoxygenase pathway in the synthesis of P and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha of luteal cells.