Studies on the uterus, skin and femur of rats treated with 17-beta-oestradiol benzoate for one to twenty-one days.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The wet weight, dry fat-free weight and collagen content of the uterus, the collagen, salt-soluble collagen and hexosamine contents of the skin and the collagen content of the femurs from weanling and young adult rats subjected to 1 to 21 daily injections of 2 μg 17β-oestradiol benzoate/100 g body weight were compared to similar data from control animals. Changes in dry fat-free weight of the uterus following oestradiol administration varied with animal age and did not coincide with changes in wet weight of the uterus. The dry fat-free weight of the uterus, as a per cent of wet weight, was significantly decreased in both age groups of rats following a single injecton of oestradiol only. Increases in dry fat-free weight of the uterus of the oestrogen-treated rats were primarily from substances other than collagen. After 14 days of oestradiol injections, collagen per total skin was decreased in both weanling and young adult steroid-treated rats. The decrease in salt-soluble collagen extracted per gram of skin collagen at the later experimental periods was not great enough to warrant the conclusion that the quantity of salt-soluble collagen, relative to total skin collagen, was decreased. Hexosamine was not significantly decreased in either age of oestrogen-treated rats until the 21 day experimental period. The dry fat-free femur weight and collagen per femur of the oestrogen-treated rats were significantly changed (increased) only at the 14 day experimental period of the young adult rats.