Gonadotropins are the major regulators of ovarian function and may be involved in the etiology of ovarian cancer. In this study, we report a new mechanism whereby gonadotropins regulate the survival of human ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), the tissue of origin of epithelial ovarian carcinomas. Our results indicate that disruption of N-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion is an important molecular event in the apoptosis of human OSE. Treatment with surge serum concentrations of gonadotropins reduced the amount of N-cadherin with a concomitant induction of apoptosis, and this effect was mediated by a cAMP/protein kinase A pathway but not the ERK1/2 and protein kinase C cascades. We further demonstrated that activation of the gonadotropins/cAMP signaling pathway in human OSE led to a rapid down-regulation of N-cadherin protein level followed by a reduction at the level of N-cadherin mRNA, indicating that expression of N-cadherin was regulated by post-translational and transcriptional mechanisms. The former mechanism was mediated by increased turnover of N-cadherin protein and could be reversed by inhibition of proteasomal or matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2) activity. On the other hand, at the transcriptional level, the addition of actinomycin D abolished the cAMP-mediated decrease in N-cadherin mRNA but did not change its stability. Inhibition of protein kinase A or expressing a dominant negative mutant of cAMP-response element-binding protein blocked this decrease of N-cadherin mRNA. Together, the combined operation of post-translational and transcriptional mechanisms suggests that regulation of N-cadherin is a crucial event and emphasizes the important role that N-cadherin has in controlling the survival capability of human OSE.