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Estradiol receptor binding to the epithelium of uterine lumen and glands: region- and time-related changes during preimplantation and periimplantation periods studied by autoradiography

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Abstract

The presence and changes of estradiol nuclear binding and related functions in uterine luminal and glandular epithelium were studied before and after blastocyst implantation using receptor autoradiography with 3H-estradiol-17β in association with 3H-thymidine incorporation and immunocytochemical binding of antibody to estrogen receptor ER-α. 3H-estradiol nuclear binding is present but variable during days 1.5–7.5 of pregnancy. Sites of strong nuclear binding of 3H-estradiol exhibit strong immunocytochemical staining with ER-α antibody. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of autoradiograms reveal that there is a general increase of nuclear 3H-estradiol binding during the first 3 days after fertilization in both luminal and glandular epithelium. The binding of estradiol is stronger in glandular epithelium from day 2.5 to day 7.5, paralleled by a rise in 3H-thymidine incorporation on day 2.5. By comparison, in the epithelium of the uterine lumen 3H-estradiol nuclear binding is low, but relatively high in epithelial cells at lateral branching of the lumen where the increase in 3H-estradiol binding corresponds to an increased labeling index with 3H-thymidine. A highly differentiated binding of 3H-estradiol to luminal and glandular epithelium was demonstrated with region- and time-specific changes of related effects on cell proliferation, differentiation, and secretion, probably involving involution and remodeling. The strong 3H-estradiol binding to glandular epithelium suggests that estradiol exerts pronounced effects on glandular activities in the periimplantation period.

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Acknowledgements

W.E. Stumpf is Visiting Professor, Department of Histology and Embryology, ICB, USP, supported by FAPESP (99/098-1). Dr. Soto-Suazo is supportd by a fellowship from CNPq (PD), Brazil. J.G. Oliveira is an undergraduate student supported by a fellowship from FAPESP (02/01249-8). We thank Dr. Alison Colqhoun for a critical reading of the manuscript. The project was supported by grants from FAPESO (00/00098-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biology of Reproduction, Department of Histology and Embryology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-900, São Paulo, Brazil

    Telma M. T. Zorn, Mauricio Soto-Suazo, Cleusa R. Pellegrini, José G. Oliveira & Walter E. Stumpf

  2. School of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Santiago de Chile, Chile

    Mauricio Soto-Suazo

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  1. Telma M. T. Zorn
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  2. Mauricio Soto-Suazo
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  3. Cleusa R. Pellegrini
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  4. José G. Oliveira
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  5. Walter E. Stumpf
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Correspondence to Telma M. T. Zorn.

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Zorn, T.M.T., Soto-Suazo, M., Pellegrini, C.R. et al. Estradiol receptor binding to the epithelium of uterine lumen and glands: region- and time-related changes during preimplantation and periimplantation periods studied by autoradiography. Histochem Cell Biol 120, 1–12 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-003-0534-3

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