Inhibition of superovulation in immature female rats by the antiserum to cyclooxygenase.

In order to investigate involvement of prostaglandins (PGs) in ovulation, we examined whether the antiserum to cyclooxygenase was able to inhibit superovulation in immature female rats as indomethacin did. The antiserum to cyclooxygenase was raised in rabbits using as antigen the solubilized cyclooxygenase extracted and purified from bovine seminal vesicles. The in vivo administration of the antiserum inhibited superovulation in female rats dose-dependently at doses of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 ml but did not affect production of progesterone. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase in the follicular cells due to the antiserum causing no effect on steroidogenesis was observed in organ cultures of the follicles excised from rats primed with PMS-hCG and the antiserum. In contrast to this, no inhibition of cyclooxygenase was detected upon adding the antiserum to the culture medium. The present study showed PG is as indispensable a factor in ovulation as are the steroids.