Abstract
Female mice of the C57 Black/Tw strain were injected daily with 100μg testosterone, 50μg testosterone propionate (TP), 100μg 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or 50μg 5α-dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP), for 10 days from the day of birth. Two other groups of female mice were given neonatal injections with 20μg estradiol-17β and 100μgg progesterone for 10 days, respectively. All mice were ovariectomized at 60 days of age and killed at 90 days. In 100% of neonatally estrogenized or androgenized, ovariectomized mice, the cranial part of the vagina was lined with stratified epithelium with either cornification or parakeratosis or mucification. Stratification only or stratification with superficial squamous metaplasia or cornification took place in the uterine epithelia of 18% of the TP-treated, 75% of the DHT-treated and 50% of the DHTP-treated, ovariectomized mice. In contrast, neonatally estrogenized, ovariectomized mice did not show the estrogen-independent, persistent uterine changes. Neonatal progesterone treatment failed to induce the permanent changes in the vaginal and uterine epithelia.
