ENZYMORPHOLOGY 

 OF ESTROGEN STIMULATED RAT VAGINA 



M. HAYASHI and W. H. FISHMAN | 



t 



Tufts University School of Medicine and the New England, j 



Center Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, U. S. A. I 



I 

 1. j8-Glucuronidase activity ia the vaginal epithelium of rat, as visualized 

 by enzymorphologic technique, was altered as early as 5 rainâtes after j 

 intravenous injection of estradiol-17jS (lOy per 100 g body weight). 4 



2. The earliest change in activity of the germinal layer was the ap- 

 pearance of a positive jS-glucuronidase reaction in the nucleus, which 

 was observed 5 minutes after injection. This phenomenon was foUowed by 

 the appearance of /3-glucuronidase in the cytoplasm of the most super- 

 ficial layer of the vaginal cells which were now columnar in appearance. 

 Moreover, the enzyme appeared to migrate toweu-ds the lumenal surface. 

 This same effect was observed after intravaginal application of estrogen. 



3. Two sites of the early action of estrogen therefore are the nuclei of 

 cells of the stratum germinativum and the cytoplasm of cells of the super- 

 ficial layer of the rat vagina. 



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