抄録
The precise localization of aromatase, the estrogen synthesizing enzyme, in the ovary of golden hamster, guinea pig and cow were immunocytochemically studied using anti-human placental aromatase cytochrome P-450 antisera. The positive reaction for aromatase was detected mainly in the granulosa cells of large preovulatory follicles of all species studied. In addition, some cells of corpora lutea showed weak positive reaction. The granulosa cells of smaller follicles, theca interna cells, oocytes and peritoneal epithelial cells were entirely negative to the immunostaining. The intensity of the immunoreaction to the anti-aromatase antibody was stronger in the hamster ovary than in the ovaries of the guinea pig and cow. Electron microscopic examination revealed that the positively stained granulosa cells of hamster had well developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The present results and our previous data obtained in rats and mice ovaries suggest that the appearance of aromatase in the granulosa cell of the preovulatory follicle is a general phenomenon in many species of mammals.
