As estrogen and progesterone are proposed regulators of luteal function, this study was undertaken to correlate the presence of receptors for these steroids with luteal function during early pregnancy. Corpora lutea (CL) were obtained from nonpregnant baboons during the midluteal [ML; days 7-8 postovulation (PO)] and late luteal (LL; days 11-12 PO) phases of the menstrual cycle or from pregnant baboons on days 18, 25, 29, or 31-33 PO. Estrogen and progestin receptors (ER and PR, respectively) and 3-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3HSD) were detected by immunocytochemistry using specific monoclonal (H222 for ER; JZB39 for PR) or polyclonal (S683 for 3HSD) antibodies. In addition, ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from CL, processed for Northern blot analysis, and probed with complementary DNAs to human PR, human 3HSD, and rat aromatase. Levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) for 3HSD were quantified by laser densitometric scanning, and the data were normalized to the expression of a housekeeping gene (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) to correct for loading differences. CL did not demonstrate specific nuclear stain for ER at any stage of the menstrual cycle or pregnancy. In contrast, PR-positive cells were present during the ML phase, but decreased during the LL phase (P Ͻ 0.05). PR-positive cells were maintained during early pregnancy at levels comparable to the ML phase (P Ͼ 0.05). Staining for 3HSD was present at all stages of the cycle and pregnancy. Although the percent of 3HSD-positive cells appeared to decrease as pregnancy proceeded, this was not statistically different (P Ͼ 0.05). The complementary DNA to PR hybridized to multiple transcripts (ϳ4.4, 3.1, 1.6, and 0.95 kilobases) in CL of the cycle. A single transcript (ϳ1.8 kilobases) for 3HSD was present in CL at all stages of the cycle and pregnancy. The level of 3HSD mRNA was highest during the ML phase and declined significantly (P Ͻ 0.05) during the LL phase and early pregnancy. Three transcripts (ϳ3.6, 3.0, and 1.7 kilobases) for aromatase were detected in CL of the cycle and pregnancy. Aromatase mRNA increased during early pregnancy. These results support the concept of PR-mediated events, but not ER-regulated processes in the primate CL. Furthermore, the data suggest that the steroidogenic enzymes 3HSD and aromatase are differentially regulated during early pregnancy. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 82: [955][956][957][958][959][960][961][962] 1997) I N PRIMATES, LH is clearly required to sustain progesterone secretion by the corpus luteum (CL). In addition, it has been proposed that estrogen and progesterone may play a paracrine or autocrine role in regulating luteal function. In rats and rabbits, estrogen is luteotropic (1); however, estrogen induces luteolysis in women and rhesus monkeys (2, 3) when administered exogenously. As estrogen treatment was unable to cause luteolysis in monkeys whose gonadotropin secretion was controlled by the administration of pulsatile GnRH (4), the luteolytic effect of exogenous estrogen is presuma...