Influence of male genital tract mesenchymes on differentiation of Dunning prostatic adenocarcinoma.

Eighteen-day-old fetal urogenital sinus mesenchyme (UGM), 0-day-old neonatal seminal vesicle mesenchyme (SVM), 0-day-old neonatal bulbourethral gland mesenchyme (BUG-M), and 3-day-old neonatal urinary bladder mesenchyme (BLM) were isolated from rats and combined in vitro with 0.5-mm cubes of the R3327 androgen-dependent Dunning prostatic adenocarcinoma (DT). The resultant tissue combinations were grown as subcapsular renal grafts in male or female hosts.

Serum-free culture of enriched mouse anterior and ventral prostatic epithelial cells in collagen gel.

Sustained growth of mouse ventral and anterior prostatic epithelial cells embedded within collagen gel matrix was achieved in a serum-free medium composed of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and Ham's F12 medium, 1:1 (vol/vol), supplemented with bovine serum albumin fraction V, epidermal growth factor, transferrin, cholera toxin, prolactin, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, cortisol, putrescine, fibroblast growth factor, and a trace element mixture. Three-dimensional growth of prostatic epithelial cells occurred inside the collagen gel matrix. This serum-free medium allowed cell growth greater than sevenfold over 10 d in culture.

Strain differences in the ontogeny of estrogen receptors in murine uterine epithelium.

The expression of estrogen receptor (ER) in the reproductive tracts of neonatal mice was examined using immunocytochemical and autoradiographic methods. Two strains of mice used in previous studies that reported contradictory results showed different rates of uterine epithelial development. In the inbred strain, BALB/c, the epithelium was devoid of receptor from birth through 5 days of age, while uterine epithelial cells of the outbred strain, CD-1, expressed ER as early as 3 days of age.

Radiation sensitization by an iodine-labelled DNA ligand.

An iodinated DNA ligand, iodo Hoechst 33258, which binds in the minor groove of DNA, enhances DNA strand breakage and cell killing by UV-A irradiation. The sites of UV-induced strand breaks reflect the known sequence specificity of the ligand.

Characterization of antibodies to androgen-dependent secretory proteins of the mouse dorsolateral prostate.

The mouse prostate is an attractive model for studying the relationship between epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and the mechanism of androgen action because of the volume of information on tissue interactions in the development of the prostate of this species and the existence of a mutant mouse lacking functional androgen receptors (Tfm mouse). In this paper the major proteins of the mouse dorsolateral prostate (DLP) have been described, and antibodies to these proteins have been characterized. The two most abundant secreted proteins were of 110,000-115,000 (Mj1) and 55,000-62,000 (Mj2) mol wt.

Histologic, morphometric, and immunocytochemical analysis of myometrial development in rats and mice: II. Effects of DES on development.

The effects of diethylstilbestrol (DES) treatment on myometrial development from the prenatal to adult period were examined in rats and mice by histologic and immunocytochemical methods using anti-actin, -vimentin, and -laminin to assess cytodifferentiation of smooth muscle and fibroblastic cells, and by morphometric procedures to assess quantitatively the effect of DES on the expression of cellular orientation in the emerging inner circular myometrial layer. Neonatal rats and mice were treated with DES from day 0 (day of birth) to day 2 with dosages known to perturb myometrial development. Neonatal treatment with DES increased the degree of circular orientation within the uterine mesenchyme, an effect detectable following as little as 24 hr of DES treatment.

Histologic, morphometric, and immunocytochemical analysis of myometrial development in rats and mice: I. Normal development.

Myometrial development from the prenatal to adult period was examined in rats and mice 1) by histologic and immunocytochemical methods with anti-actin, -vimentin, and -laminin to assess cytodifferentiation of smooth muscle and fibroblastic cells; and 2) by morphometric procedures to assess quantitatively the expression of cellular orientation in the emerging inner circular myometrial layer. Uterine mesenchymal cells initially were uniformly vimentin-positive, undifferentiated, and randomly oriented during the late fetal period. By the early neonatal period, three mesenchymal layers became recognizable histologically, the middle one of which (prospective circular myometrium) developed distinct circular orientation and differentiated into a layer composed of actin-positive smooth muscle cells.

Induction of DNA double-strand breaks by 157Gd neutron capture.

The rationale of boron (10B) neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the high thermal neutron capture cross section of 10B and the limited maximum range (about one cell diameter) of the high LET fission products of the boron neutron capture (NC) reaction. The resulting radiochemical damage is confined to the cell containing the BNC reaction. Although other nuclides have higher thermal neutron capture cross sections than 10B, NC by such nuclides results in the emission of highly penetrating gamma rays.

[Physical exercise and serum lipids].

The physical activity shows an inverse correlation with Ischaemic Cardiopathy, with evidence that lipids and lipoproteins blood levels are favourably modified by exercise. In this way, this study compared the different degrees of physical activity and the levels of blood lipids/lipoproteins, as well as the anthropometric and physiological variants. One hundred fifty seven non smoking males, aged 15 to 31 years old, average 21 years, were divided in two groups: G1 comprises 88 athletes individuals and G2, 69 non-athletes.

Induction of functional cytodifferentiation in the epithelium of tissue recombinants. II. Instructive induction of Wolffian duct epithelia by neonatal seminal vesicle mesenchyme.

When grown as renal grafts in adult male hosts, the upper (cranial), middle and lower (caudal) portions of fetal mouse and rat Wolffian ducts developed into epididymis, epididymis plus ductus deferens, and seminal vesicle, respectively. In heterotypic tissue recombinants, the epithelia from upper and middle Wolffian ducts were instructively induced to undergo seminal vesicle morphogenesis by neonatal seminal vesicle mesenchyme. Functional cytodifferentiation was examined in these recombinants using antibodies against major androgen-dependent, seminal vesicle-specific secretory proteins.

Induction of functional cytodifferentiation in the epithelium of tissue recombinants. I. Homotypic seminal vesicle recombinants.

Functional cytodifferentiation of seminal vesicle epithelium was investigated in tissue recombinants. Neonatal rat and mouse seminal vesicles were separated into epithelium and mesenchyme using trypsin. Epithelium and mesenchyme were then recombined in vitro to form interspecific rat/mouse homotypic recombinants.

Role of uterine epithelium in the development of myometrial smooth muscle cells.

To study the role of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in myometrial development, uteri from neonatal Balb/c mice 1 to 60 days postpartum were utilized. Intact (untrypsinized) uteri, trypsinized but unseparated uteri, homotypic uterine tissue recombinants (separated-recombined), or uterine mesenchyme alone were grafted beneath the renal capsule of syngeneic female hosts and grown for 1 mo. Uterine mesenchyme from 1-day mice grafted alone produced small amounts of smooth muscle, most of which was associated with vasculature, whereas uterine mesenchyme from older donors possessing a rudimentary myometrium at the time of grafting formed intermediate amounts of myometrium (actin-positive smooth muscle bundles).

Uptake of cortisol by the perfused rat liver: validity of the free hormone hypothesis applied to cortisol.

The mechanism by which cortisol in plasma enters hepatic cells was investigated using the isolated perfused rat liver. To determine whether hepatic uptake of cortisol from serum can be accounted for entirely by the pool of unbound (free) cortisol, we compared observed uptake rates with the equilibrium-free fraction of cortisol in serum and the rates of dissociation of cortisol from its serum binding proteins (determined using a rapid filtration assay based on transfer of [3H] cortisol to dextran-coated charcoal). More than 95% of the cortisol in both human and rat serum dissociated spontaneously from its binding proteins within 5 sec at 37 C.

Induction of double-strand breaks following neutron capture by DNA-bound 157Gd.

Irradiation of plasmid DNA/Gd3+ mixtures with thermal neutrons induces DNA double-strand breaks (dsb). However, the extent of breakage is markedly reduced by sequestering the Gd3+ from DNA by addition of EDTA. Since the 157Gd neutron capture event involves some internal conversion, we suggest that the DNA dsb induction results from Auger electron emission.

Absence of teratogenic effects of progesterone on the developing genital tract of the human female fetus.

It has been questioned whether prenatal exposure to progesterone, like exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), results in teratogenic abnormalities of the upper and lower genital tract in human females. Through the use of a recently described model in which human fetal reproductive tracts can be transplanted and grown in vivo for extended periods in athymic nude mice, genital tracts from human female fetuses, ages 7 to 18 weeks postovulation, were grafted into castrated murine hosts and grown for 4 to 10 weeks in the presence or absence of continuous exposure to progesterone. Substantial growth was observed.

The effect of androgen deprivation on branching morphogenesis in the mouse prostate.

Androgen-induced prostatic development encompasses many individual processes such as ductal branching morphogenesis, cellular proliferation, and secretory cytodifferentiation. Previous studies of ductal morphogenesis (Y. Sugimura, G.

Estrogen Responsiveness and the Estrogen Receptor during Development of the Murine Female Reproductive Tract: (estrogen receptor/autoradiography/female reproductive tract).

The developing uterus, vagina, and cervix of mice whose age ranged from 16 days of gestation to 90 days postnatal were examined for nuclear estrogen receptors (ERs) by autoradiographic and whole cell uptake techniques. ERs were present within mesenchymal cells of these organs throughout the entire period of development and maturation. By contrast, nuclear ER first became detectable by autoradiography in the epithelium of vagina and uterus at 5 and 6 days postnatal, respectively.

Progesterone and dexamethasone inhibition of uterine epithelial proliferation in two models of estrogen-independent growth.

It is believed that progestins and glucocorticoids block estrogen-induced growth of the uterus by perturbing the mechanism of estrogen stimulation. We have examined the effect of progesterone or dexamethasone on two rodent models of estrogen-independent proliferation of uterine epithelium. Tissues of the neonatal mouse uterus exhibit high rates of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in the absence of endogenous steroids.

Temporal and spatial factors in diethylstilbestrol-induced squamous metaplasia of the developing human prostate.

The effects of exogenous estrogen on the developing human prostate were examined in human fetal prostatic rudiments grown for 1 month as subcapsular renal grafts in athymic male nude mice treated with diethylstilbestrol (DES). Prostatic rudiments grown in untreated (control) hosts exhibited normal ductal morphogenesis, growth, and secretory cytodifferentiation. Squamous metaplasia was observed rarely in controls (2 of 22).

Hormonal modification of epithelial differentiation and expression of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan in the mouse vaginal epithelium. An immunohistochemical and electron microscopic study.

Immunohistochemical staining of a cell surface antigen was evaluated in the adult mouse vaginal epithelium at different stages of the estrous cycle and in response to exogenous sex hormones and endocrine ablation. The antigen is recognized by a monoclonal antibody directed against the core protein of a heparan sulfate-rich proteoglycan from mouse mammary epithelial cells. Vaginal epithelium at estrus showed the most intense staining; cells of the basal and intermediate layers stained, but the more superficial parakeratotic, cornified, and sloughing layers did not.

Androgen dependence of growth and epithelial morphogenesis in neonatal mouse bulbourethral glands.

The early development of the mouse bulbourethral gland (BUG) and the role of testosterone (T) in the normal growth and epithelial morphogenesis of this male accessory sex gland were examined. The mouse BUG differentiates from the urogenital sinus on day 17 of gestation (vaginal plug = day 0; birth = day 19), and initially consists of a solid epithelial rudiment encased in a large condensed capsular mesenchyme. The epithelium begins to branch and canalize on day 1 postnatally, and the branches enlarge and become more numerous on days 2 and 3.