Skip to main content

Experimental evidence for the bone marrow origin of granulated metrial gland cells of the mouse uterus

Summary

The clear morphological differences between the granulated metrial gland (GMG) cells which develop in the uteri of rats and mice have been used to assess the origin of GMG cells in radiation chimaeras. Lethally irradiated mice were reconstituted with either rat or mouse bone marrow cells. Control mice were ovariectomised. A schedule of steroid injections was carried out allowing deciduoma formation to be induced in the irradiated and control animals. Deciduoma formation was impaired, and there were few GMG cells in the irradiated, bone marrow-reconstituted mice in comparison with the ovariectomised controls. However, it was possible to identify, by their distinctive morphology, 1) rat GMG cells in the mice reconstituted with rat bone marrow cells, and 2) mouse GMG cells in the mice reconstituted with mouse bone marrow cells. Conversely, no typical mouse or rat GMG cells were identified in mice reconstituted, respectively, with rat or mouse bone marrow cells. The observations indicate that GMG cells differentiate from a precursor derived from bone marrow.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

References

  • Bekkum DW van, Vries MJ de (1967) Radiation chimaeras. Logos Academic Press, New York London, p 11

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard O, Scheid MP, Ripoche M-A, Bennett D (1978) Immunological studies of mouse decidual cells. I. Membrane markers of decidual cells in the days after implantation. J Exp Med 148:580–591

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray J, Stewart I, Craggs R (1978) The demonstration of cells bearing Fc receptors in the metrial gland of the pregnant rat uterus. Cell Tissue Res 192:89–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulmer D, Peel S (1977) The demonstration of immunoglobulin in the metrial gland cells of the rat placenta. J Reprod Fertil 49:143–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulmer JN, Stewart IJ, Mitchell BS, Peel S (1980) Endometrial granulocytes in the human uterus. J Anat 131:754

    Google Scholar 

  • Ham AW, Cormack DH (1979) Histology 8th edition. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamperl H (1955) The granular endometrial stroma cells: A new type. J Pathol 69:358–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Karnovsky MJ (1965) A formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fixative of high osmolality for use in electron microscopy. J Cell Biol 27:137 A

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearns M, Lala PK (1982) Bone marrow origin of decidual cell precursors in the pseudopregnant mouse uterus. J Exp Med 155:1537–1554

    Google Scholar 

  • Larkin LH, Schultz RL (1968) Histochemical and autoradiographic studies of the formation of the metrial gland in the pregnant rat. Am J Anat 122:607–619

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell BS, Craggs R, Peel S (1980) The localisation of immunoglobulin (IgG) within the rat metrial gland. J Reprod Immunol 2:235–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Peel S (1980) An investigation of lymphocyte movement to the pregnant uterus. J Anat 130:661

    Google Scholar 

  • Peel S, Bulmer D (1977) The fine structure of the rat metrial gland in relation to the origin of the granulated cells. J Anat 123:687–696

    Google Scholar 

  • Peel S, Stewart I, Bulmer D (1979) Metrial gland cells in deciduomata of pseudopregnancy. J Anat 129:21–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Pijnenborg R (1975) Placentation in the golden hamster. Doctoral Thesis, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven

    Google Scholar 

  • Pijnenborg R, Dixon G, Robertson WB, Brosens I (1980) Trophoblastic invasion of human decidua from 8 to 18 weeks of pregnancy. Placenta 1:3–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma R, Peel S (1979) Uptake of marker proteins by glycoprotein-containing cells of the pregnant rat uterus and placenta. J Anat 129:707–718

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith LJ (1966) Metrial gland and other glycogen containing cells in the mouse uterus following mating and through implantation of the embryo. Am J Anat 119:15–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart IJ (1978) A comparative study of the mouse and rat metrial gland cells. J Anat 126:410

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart IJ (1980) A study of granulated metrial gland cells in the pregnant mouse uterus. PhD Thesis, University of Southampton

  • Stewart IJ (1982) Granulated metrial gland cells in the lungs of pregnant and pseudopregnant mice. J Anat 135:832

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart I, Peel S (1977) The structure and differentiation of granulated metrial gland cells of the pregnant mouse uterus. Cell Tissue Res 184:517–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart I, Peel S (1978) The differentiation of the decidua and the distribution of metrial gland cells in the pregnant mouse uterus. Cell Tissue Res 187:167–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Tachi S, Tachi C (1980) Electron microscope studies of chimeric blastocysts experimentally produced by aggregating blastomeres of rat and mouse embryos. Dev Biol 80:18–27

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Peel, S., Stewart, I.J. & Bulmer, D. Experimental evidence for the bone marrow origin of granulated metrial gland cells of the mouse uterus. Cell Tissue Res. 233, 647–656 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00212232

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00212232

Key words

  • Chimaera
  • Metrial gland
  • Bone marrow
  • Differentiation
  • Pregnancy