Proliferation of the superficial epithelium of ovaries in senile female rats following oral administration of conjugated equine estrogens

Authors

  • Sergio Eduardo Perniconi UNIFESP; Morphology Department; Histology and Cellular Biology Division
  • Manuel de Jesus Simões UNIFESP; Morphology Department; Histology and Cellular Biology Division
  • Ricardo dos Santos Simões Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina
  • Mauro Abi Haidar Universidade Federal de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina; Gynecology Department
  • Edmund C Baracat Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina
  • Jose Maria Soares Jr Universidade Federal de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina; Gynecology Department

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S1807-59322008000300016

Keywords:

Estrogens, Superficial epithelium, Ovary, Animal Model

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of different concentrations of estrogen on the ovarian superficial epithelium in senile female rats. Design: Fifty female rats at 15 months of age and with irregular estrous cycles were selected and randomly divided into five experimental groups containing equal numbers of animals in each: GPROP, control group receiving vehicle only; GE0.05mg, group receiving conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) at a dose of 50 µg/kg; GE0.5mg, group receiving CEE at 500 µg/kg; GE1mg, group receiving CEE at 1 mg/kg; and GE2mg, receiving CEE at 2 mg/kg. The length of treatment was 21 days. After this period, the animals were anesthetized and the ovaries were fixed in 10% formaldehyde and processed for routine histology. Histomorphology was analyzed by light microscopy, and histomorphometrics were evaluated using the Imagelab program. RESULTS: In the GPROP and GE0.05mg groups, the superficial epithelium of the ovary had a simple cuboidal shape, and as the estrogen dose increased, the epithelium thickened, with pseudo-stratified or stratified epithelium appearing in the GE2mg group. The animals in the group given the highest estrogen dose (GE2mg) showed the thickest ovarian epithelium and the largest perimeter and surface area of the surface ovarian epithelium (P < 0.01). However, the difference in epithelium thickness between the GE0.5mg and GE1mg groups was only slight. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that CEE at a dose of 2 mg/kg may induce marked proliferation of rat ovarian epithelium.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2008-01-01

Issue

Section

Basic Research

How to Cite

Perniconi, S. E., Simões, M. de J., Simões, R. dos S., Haidar, M. A., Baracat, E. C., & Soares Jr, J. M. (2008). Proliferation of the superficial epithelium of ovaries in senile female rats following oral administration of conjugated equine estrogens . Clinics, 63(3), 381-388. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1807-59322008000300016