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Regular article |
Has a Functional Role in the Mouse Rete Testis and Efferent Ductules1
a Department of Veterinary Bioscience, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61802
b Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801
c Department of Biochemistry and
d Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
ABSTRACT
Previous studies of the estrogen receptor-alpha knockout (
ERKO) in the male mouse demonstrate that the rete testis and efferent ductules are targets of estrogen. Because the
ERKO mouse lacks a functional estrogen receptor alpha (ER
) throughout development, it was not known whether the morphological and physiological abnormalities observed in the
ERKO male were due to developmental defects or to dysfunctions concurrent with the lack of ER
in the tissue. This study was designed to determine if treatment of normal wild-type (WT) mice with the pure antiestrogen, ICI 182,780, (ICI) could reproduce the morphological characteristics seen in
ERKO mice. Thirty-day-old male mice were treated for 35 days with either castor oil or ICI. Age-equivalent
ERKO mice were used for comparison. Light microscopic examinations of the reproductive tracts revealed dramatic changes in the efferent ductules of treated mice: a 1.7-fold increase in luminal diameter, a 56% reduction in epithelial cell height, a 60% reduction in brush boarder height of nonciliated cells, and an apparent reduction of the number of observable lysosomes and endocytotic vesicles. Testes of ICI-treated mice showed swollen rete testes area (6.5 times larger than control) and a 65% reduction in rete testis epithelium height. However, there were no significant changes in body and testis weights. These results indicate that ER blockage with ICI in WT mice results in morphological changes of the efferent ductules resembling those seen in
ERKO siblings of the same age. Based on this study, we conclude that ER
has a functional role in the mouse reproductive tract and the aberrant morphology observed in the efferent ductules of the
ERKO mouse is likely the result of a concurrent response to the lack of functional ER
, and not solely due to the lack of ER
during early developmental times.
First decision: 11 April 2000.
1 This work was supported in part by NIH grant HD-35126. Part of this work was presented at the XV North American Testis Workshop, Louisville, Kentucky.
2 Correspondence: David Bunick, University of Illinois, Department of Veterinary Bioscience, 2001 South Lincoln Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. FAX: 217 244 1652; d-bunick{at}uiuc.edu
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