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Cellular Signals Controlling Uterine Function pp 11–29Cite as

Reciprocal Tissue Interactions in Morphogenesis and Hormonal Responsiveness of the Female Reproductive Tract

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Summary

A brief review is made of the literature which describes the role of mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in organogenesis of the female reproductive tract and other organs that exhibit developmental sensitivity to steroid hormones. Also reviewed are studies in which the developing neonatal mouse uterus is used as a model for investigating the mechanisms underlying acute effects of estrogen and progesterone on uterine epithelial cell proliferation.

Uterine epithelium of the neonatal Balb/c mouse lacks estrogen receptor, yet, an increase in cellular proliferation occurs when the synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES) is administered to these animals. The presence of estrogen receptors in the mesenchymal cells suggest that this estrogen-induced proliferation may be mediated by mesenchymal factors. Conflicting reports have indicated that epithelial cells of the neonatal mouse uterus do indeed express estrogen receptor, however, upon systematic examination of this issue the apparent discrepancy can be ascribed to developmental differences between the strains of mice used in those studies.

The uterine epithelium of the neonatal mouse exhibits a high rate of cellular proliferation in the absence of steroid hormones. Progesterone inhibition of this proliferative activity is taken to indicate that the mechanism of progesterone action does not require perturbation of estrogen receptor activity. Tissue recombinant studies indicate that there is a mesenchymal component required for the inhibitory activity of progesterone.

In developmental studies and tissue recombinant experiments, it was found that specific cytokeratin peptides are expressed during the early stages of mesenchymally induced cytodifferentiation. It is hoped that this will serve as a marker in further studies designed to elucidate the mechanisms of these tissue interactions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46223, USA

    Robert M. Bigsby

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  1. Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, USA

    Lynn A. Lavia

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Bigsby, R.M. (1991). Reciprocal Tissue Interactions in Morphogenesis and Hormonal Responsiveness of the Female Reproductive Tract. In: Lavia, L.A. (eds) Cellular Signals Controlling Uterine Function. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3724-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3724-3_3

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