W. U. Gardner

Ovarian and lymphoid tumors in female mice subsequent to roentgen-ray irradiation and hormone treatment.

Summary and conclusion Irradiated mice given estradiol benzoate did not have ovarian tumours whereas mice given testosterone propionate (1.25 mg weekly) or sesame oil did. Irradiated mice given testosterone propionate had fewer lymphomas than did the mice given estradiol benzoate or sesame oil.

Mammary Growth in Hypophysectomized Male Mice Receiving Estrogen and Prolactin.

Summary The mammary rudiments grew in hypophysectomized male mice receiving either of 2 purified preparations of prolactin and estrogen. The injection of these preparations of prolactin alone was not followed by mammary growth.

Sinusoidal Dilatation Occurring in Livers of Mice with a Transplanted Testicular Tumor.

Summary 1. Mice having a transplanted interstitial cell testicular tumor developed sinusoidal dilatation in the liver, spleen and adrenal glands. 2. These changes were more marked in animals with intra-mesenteric transplants than in animals with subcutaneous transplants. 3. This testicular tumor did not have any hormonal activity in castrate animals.

Radioactive estradiol accumulation in endometriosis of the rhesus monkey

Abstract 3 H-estradiol was administered intravenously to 7 rhesus monkeys and the concentration of radioactivity in tissues measured one or two hours later. Four of the monkeys had endometriosis; in three the disease followed pelvic irradiation several years previously. High concentrations of radioactivity were found in the endometrium, myometrium, endometriosis, and adenomyosis relative to the concentrations in plasma, fat, or muscle.

Cytological morphology of a virus-containing mouse testicular interstitial cell tumor

The parenchymal elements of a murine testicular interstitial cell tumor which arose in a BALB/c × A mouse as a result of diethylstilbestrol has been examined with the electron microscope. It was found that the parenchyma consisted of four distinct cell types, only one of which contained viral particles. The type A intracytoplasmic viral particles were present in large aggregations. Information indicating that bundles of helical fibrils located in the cytoplasm may represent “viral coat material” is presented. Other characteristics of the virus-containing cell are: a very large, irregular nucleus; diffuse collapsed endoplasmic reticulum (ER); prominent Golgi (closely related to the viral particles); mitochondria that tend to be round; and several dense bodies. The cytoplasm of the second cell type is filled with a dilated ER containing an electron dense material. The third cell type possesses an extensive dilated ER filled with a very flocculent substance. The fourth cell type is small; the cytoplasm is relatively free of formed structures. The sparse mitochondria and ER are usually located close to the nucleus.

Influence of Methylcholanthrene on Age Incidence of Leukemia in Several Strains of Mice.

Summary Leukemia appeared at an earlier age than in controls when mice of the F strain were painted twice weekly with methylcholanthrene. Myelogenous leukemia, which does not occur in untreated F mice before 300 days of age, appeared as early as 97 days after birth in treated mice. Only 3 cases of leukemia occurred in 184 mice of non-Ieukemic strains treated in a similar manner. The effectiveness of methylcholanthrene in influencing the appearance of leukemia in young mice depended on the genetic susceptibility of mice to the disease.

Intrasplenic Transplantation of Testes in Castrated Mice

Summary Thirty-two successful testicular homo transplants were recovered from 40 castrated male and female mice of the A strain bearing the intrasplenic transplants for a period ranging from 23 to 275 days. The testicular transplants showed the general histological features of cryptorchid testes, although spermatids and sperm heads were noted in one case after 243 days of transplantation. The present material gave no indication of tumor development in the intrasplenic testicular transplants. The experimental data suggested that the endogenous androgen produced by the intrasplenic testicular transplant was inactivated when passing through the hepatic portal system.

Hyperplasia and Hypertrophy of the Mucosa of Larger Biliary Ducts in Mice Receiving Estrogens.

During the course of observations on mice which had received injections of various estrogens for prolonged periods an enlargement of the bile ducts was observed in many animals. In untreated mice the bile ducts, cystic duct, common duct and its branches, were small thread-like structures. Occasionally a slight cystic distension of the common bile duct was apparent at autopsy. The walls were delicate and when slightly distended almost transparent. Histologically the ducts had a thin and irregular muscularis, and a well-developed mucosa. The tall columnar epithelium was moderately folded on the loose underlying tissue of the lamina propria, and a few small glands extended to the serosa, especially in the common bile duct (Fig. 3). The bile ducts of many mice which had received estrogens were grossly thickened to several times the size of the ducts of the untreated (Fig. 1). They are also rather rigid, white and somewhat nodular. Enlargement was usually greatest at the points of junction with the branches leading to the several lobes of the liver. The main duct tended to become smaller as it approached the gut. The cystic duct was usually thickened up to the neck of the gall bladder. The gall bladder was involved in only a few mice and in these it was reduced in size and histologically resembled the upper end of the cystic duct. Microscopic examination of the enlarged ducts of the estrogen-treated mice uniformly showed an extensive increase of the epithelial folds and gland-like processes which completely penetrated the thickened mucosa, the muscularis and frequently projected to the serosa (Fig. 2). The epithelium consisted of tall columnar cells which showed slight mitotic activity. In many ducts 2 types of cells were found, tall cells with an eosinophilic cytoplasm and cells with a clear cytoplasm.

Accumulation of 3H-estradiol in the vaginas and pituitary glands of mice of inbred strains.

Summary The sensitivity of the vaginal epithelium of ovariectomized mice of the A and C57 strains to estradiol differ approximately fivefold. The vaginas of the more sensitive C57 strain did accumulate more 3H-E2 at 1 hr in two of three experiments but the retention at 6 and 12 hr was not significantly different. The pituitary accumulation of 3H-E2 by the pituitary-tumor sus-ceptable C57 mice, although not significantly greater than that of the nonsusceptable A strain mice at 1 hr was higher at 6 and 12 hr after the injection. Most of the toluene extractable radioactivity from the pituitary glands and vaginas was estradiol with no strain differences. The accumulation of 3H-E2 in other tissues was not significantly different in mice of the two strains.