LIPIDS PRESENT IN REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 773 



orators 377 reported that the amount of cholesterol continually increased in 

 the corpora lutea of sows and cows during the estrus cycle. It was sug- 

 gested that this organ was a site for the storage and possibly even for the 

 synthesis of the sterol. On the other hand, Bloor and colleagues 378 found 

 practically no change in the total cholesterol during estrus, in the sow. 

 However, the amount of free cholesterol increased up to the time of ovula- 

 tion; during the period following the active functioning of the gland, the 

 cholesterol ester increased. In fact, these authors state that the content 

 of cholesterol esters in the corpus luteum varies inversely with the functional 

 activity of the gland, a high content thus being characteristic of the de- 

 generated organ. Kaufmann 379 reported similar results. According to 

 Boyd and Elden, 380 the progestin content of the corpus luteum is pro- 

 portional to the free cholesterol content; the estrin content corresponds to 

 that of phospholipids, but not to that of other lipid fractions of the gland. 



Phospholipids present more marked alterations during the functioning 

 of the corpus luteum than do other lipid components. In the sow, the 

 percentage content of the phospholipid in the corpus luteum was two to 

 three times as high during the period of activity as it was during the for- 

 mation of ova or after retrogression. Hermstein 381 found that, in human 

 subjects, phospholipids were highest at the time of maximum activity of 

 the gland. Kaufmann and Raeth 382 likewise reported that the lecithin 

 content was highest at the time of ovulation in twenty-four cases, while 

 the amount of this phospholipid decreased as menstruation approached. 

 Cerebrosides as well as phospholipids have been reported to increase during 

 the functional stage. 383 



Boyd 384 reported a generalized two- to seven-fold increase in all lipids of 

 the ovaries of the leopard frog (Rana pipiens), concomitantly with the pro- 

 duction of ova. The increase in lipid content included not only total lipids, 

 free and esterified cholesterol and phospholipids, but also neutral fat and 

 fatty acids. 



c. The Lipid Composition of the Ovaries as Affected by Pregnancy. 

 According to Boyd, 385 the changes in the several lipid components in the 



377 A. Chauffard, G. Laroche, and A. Grigaut, Compt. rend. soc. biol, 72, 223-225, 265- 

 267 (1912). 



378 W. R. Bloor, R. Okey, and G. W. Corner, J. Biol. Chem., 86, 291-306 (1930). 



379 C. Kaufmann, Z. Geburtshulfe Gyndkol., 91, 668-681 (1927). 



380 E. M. Boyd and C. A. Elden, Endocrinology, 19, 599-602 (1935). 



381 Hermstein, Arch. Gyndkol, 124, 739-770 (1925). 



382 C. Kaufmann and K. Raeth, Arch. Gyndkol., 130, 128-151 (1927). 



383 F. v. Mikulicz-Radecki, Arch. Gyndkol, 116, 203-251 (1923). 



384 E. M. Boyd, /. Physiol, 91, 394-397 (1938). 



385 E. M. Boyd, J. Biol. Chem., 108, 607-617 (1935). 



