Production of ovarian cytokines and their role in ovulation in the mammalian ovary.

Cytokines, originally identified as products of immune cells, are synthesized throughout the female reproductive tract. Evidence has accumulated supporting the role of cytokines in reproduction, including gamete and follicle development and steroidogenesis. In these processes, cytokines act either through a paracrine or autocrine mechanism. The present article focuses on the role of cytokines during ovulation, which shares many of the features of the inflammatory reaction. The intraovarian production of cytokines, as well as its regulation by sex steroid and peptide hormones, is considered. The role of cytokines in follicle rupture and remodelling, leukocyte infiltration, angiogenesis, steroid hormone production and oocyte maturation is also described.