Summary
Unilateral decidualization was induced in uteri of ovariectomized hormone-injected prepubertal and young adult rats. The antimesometrial luminal epithelia of both the decidualized and contralateral hormone-primed (non-decidual) control uteri were examined and compared by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Epithelial cells of control uteri were columnar and they had many short microvilli on their luminal surfaces. Nuclei of these cells were round or oval and euchromatic, and other organelles were intact. In decidualized uteri luminal epithelial cells were flat and attenuated, were of greater average widths and possessed fewer microvilli. Some evidence of the degenerative changes which normally follow maximal decidual development in this region of the uterus could be seen within the flattened epithelial cells. The degenerative alterations were nuclear and cytoplasmic. Increase in lipid was observed in epithelial cells of decidualized uteri. This accumulation of intracellular lipid probably resulted from ingestion by the epithelial cells of intraluminally injected sesame oil, according to the protocol for stimulating decidualization.
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Craig, S.S., Jollie, W.P. Epithelial ultrastructure during decidualization in rats. Anat Embryol 163, 215–222 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320677
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320677