Human Reproduction vol.8 no.9 pp. 1380-1386, 1993 Development of a human granulosa cell culture model with follicle stimulating hormone responsiveness

In order to study the effects of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on differentiation of granulosa cells, a well-defined and validated in-vitro culture system is indispensable. In this study, pooled foUicular aspirates were stimulated in vitro with FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH) for 2, 4 and 6 days, either immediately after plating or after 7 days of preincubation. Cultures were assayed for progesterone and oestradiol production. Fresh cells displayed very high basal progesterone production which could be stimulated with LH but not FSH. After preincubation, addition of LH and FSH resulted in dose-dependent increases of progesterone and oestradiol. When cultured on human fibronectin-coated wells, similar basal but higher progesterone concentrations after stimulation were observed. In comparison with serum-free media, addition of Serum-Plus ™ resulted in higher basal and stimulate