The corpus luteum is a unique hormoneregulated, transient reproductive gland that produces progesterone, a required product for the establishment and maintenance of early pregnancy. In the absence of pregnancy the corpus luteum will cease to produce progesterone and the structure itself will regress in size over time. Although the process of luteal regression has been studied for several decades, many of the regulatory mechanisms involved in loss of function and involution of the structure are incompletely understood. More importantly, we are far from understanding how these complex mechanisms function in unison. The factor or factors responsible for initiating and mediating luteolysis are no doubt more complex than originally envisioned.

Further, efforts to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for luteolysis have been complicated by different interpretations of what is' luteolysis', discrepancies between in vitro and in vivo studies, and subsequent biases which are associated with the different methods of analyses. Moreover, the complexity of the mechanisms which regulate the life span of the corpus luteum are compounded by the presence of a heterogeneous population of cells which often respond differentially to the same ligand or stimuli. Attempts to isolate specific luteal cell types for the intention of defining intracellular signaling mechanisms have yielded valuable information. However, studies of a specific cell type taken out of context are often subject to criticism. The most obvious being that the cells are no