Te. Spencer et al., NEONATAL PORCINE ENDOMETRIAL DEVELOPMENT INVOLVES COORDINATED CHANGESIN DNA-SYNTHESIS, GLYCOSAMINOGLYCAN DISTRIBUTION, AND H-3 GLUCOSAMINELABELING, Biology of reproduction, 48(4), 1993, pp. 729-740
To determine whether neonatal porcine endometrial development involved
alterations in endometrial DNA synthesis, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) dis
tribution, and/or H-3-glucosamine labeling, gilts were assigned random
ly at birth (Day 0) to be hysterectomized on either Day 0, 7, 14, 28,
42, or 56. Uteri were processed for histology and Alcian blue-8GX (AB)
histochemistry or cultured as explants in the presence of [methyl-H-3
]thymidine (H-3-Thd) or D-[6-H-3]glucosamine (H-3-GlcN) and processed
for subsequent autoradiography. For H-3-Thd-labeled tissues, labeling
index (LI; % of nuclei labeled) was determined for two endometrial tis
sues (epithelium and stroma); two epithelial areas (luminal and glandu
lar); and, for glandular epithelium, in three endometrial zones (zone
1 = shallow, zone 2 = intermediate, zone 3 = deep). For H-3-GlcN-label
ed tissues, LI (grains/100 mum2) was determined for two stromal zones
(shallow and deep). Endometrial glands were absent on Day 0, present i
n shallow stroma on Days 7 and 14, and extended to the myometrium in t
issues from Day 28 through Day 56. Appearance of endometrial glands wa
s associated with a dramatic increase in glandular epithelial H-3-Thd
LI, which was maximal on Days 7 and 14 and declined thereafter. When g
lands were present in all three endometrial zones (Days 28-56), glandu
lar epithelial H-3-Thd LI was consistently greatest in zone 2. Stromal
H-3-Thd LI decreased after Day 0. In tissues obtained after Day 0, a
distinct zone of alcianophilia was observed in shallow stroma adjacent
to luminal epithelium and surrounding the necks of newly developed en
dometrial glands. This staining pattern was marked in tissues from Day
s 7, 14, and 28. Generally, stromal H-3-GlcN LI was greater in shallow
than in deep stromal zones; it decreased after Day 0 to minimum value
s on Days 28 and 42 in both zones, and increased slightly in shallow s
troma on Day 56. Data indicate that development of the neonatal porcin
e endometrium between birth and Day 56 involves coordinated alteration
s in patterns of DNA synthesis, GAG distribution, and glycoconjugate b
iosynthesis. The morphogenetic processes characterized here are likely
to be regulated locally via changes in tissue microenvironment.