Biology of Reproduction, Vol 13, 255-268, Copyright © 1975 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

Androgenization: Alterations in Uterine Growth and Morphology

¹ Departments of Anatomy and Pathology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06032

Administration of exogenous androgen to neonatal female rats induces a syndrome of sterility characterized by anovulation and persistent vaginal cornification. As a step in the elucidation of the mechanisms by which neonatal hormone treatment alters the response of the adult to circulating steroid hormones, we have studied androgen induced alterations in uterine physiology and morphology. In females androgenized with a single injection of 1.25 mg of testosterone propionate on day 3, the uterus fails to respond to estradiol administration by growth but does atrophy following ovariectomy. Glycogen content is elevated. There is squamous metaplasia of the normally columnar luminal epithelium and a marked increase in and reorientation of stromal collagen. Our data suggest that the uterus of the androgenized female rat is tonically maximally stimulated and that androgenization also causes basic alterations in uterine morphology.