AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 260, Issue 5 862-R865, Copyright © 1991 by American Physiological Society
Compartmentalization of prostaglandin synthesis within the fish ovary
F. W. Goetz
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556.
Numerous studies have shown that the follicle walls surrounding mature
vertebrate oocytes are capable of producing primary prostaglandins.
However, very few studies have looked at the prostaglandin synthetic
potential of other ovarian tissue components. In brook trout (Salvelinus
fontinalis) and goldfish (Carassius auratus), mature follicle walls can
produce prostaglandins E and F (PGE and PGF, respectively); however, it is
apparent that several other tissues within the fish ovary also produce
specific primary PGs. Incubation of stroma or connective tissue from brook
trout and goldfish ovaries with [14C]-arachidonic acid resulted in a very
significant production of PGE2, whereas small immature oocytes of both
species produced primarily PGF2 alpha. While the function of the primary
prostaglandins produced by tissues external to the mature oocytes is
unknown, it is important to recognize that multiple sites for prostaglandin
synthesis are present within the fish ovary.
