Progesterone, a critical hormone in reproduction, is a key sex steroid in the establishment and maintenance of early pregnancy and serves as an intermediary for synthesis of other steroid hormones. Progesterone production from the corpus luteum is a tightly regulated process which is stimulated and maintained by multiple factors, both systemic and local. Multiple regulatory systems, including classic mediators of gonadotropin stimulation such as the cAMP/PKA pathway and TGFβ-mediated signaling pathways, as well as local production of hormonal factors, exist to promote granulosa cell function and physiological fine-tuning of progesterone levels. In this manuscript, we provide an updated narrative review of the known mediators of human luteal progesterone and highlight new observations regarding this important process, focusing on studies published within the last five years. We will also review recent evidence suggesting that this complex system of progesterone production is sensitive to disruption by exogenous environmental chemicals that can mimic or interfere with the activities of endogenous hormones.

黄体酮是生殖中的关键激素，是建立和维持早期妊娠的关键性类固醇，并且是合成其他类固醇激素的中间体。黄体产生黄体酮是一个受到严格调控的过程，受到全身和局部多种因素的刺激和维持。多种调节系统，包括促性腺激素刺激的经典介质，如 cAMP/PKA 途径和 TGF β介导的信号途径，以及激素因子的局部产生，可以促进颗粒细胞功能和黄体酮水平的生理微调。在这份手稿中，我们对人类黄体孕酮的已知调节剂进行了更新的叙述性回顾，并强调了有关这一重要过程的新观察结果，重点关注过去五年内发表的研究。我们还将回顾最近的证据，表明这种孕激素产生的复杂系统对外源性环境化学物质的破坏很敏感，这些化学物质可以模仿或干扰内源性激素的活动。