Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(4):227-231
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000400004
PURPOSE: to evaluate histomorphometric changes in the rat myometrium upon treatment with isoflavones, as compared with estrogens, using histological and morphometric techniques. METHODS: twenty-eight oophorectomized adult rats were randomly divided into four treatment groups: GPropi = propylene glycol (control); GExtr10 - 10 mg/kg soybean extract; GExtr300 - 300 mg/kg soy bean extract; GCee - 200 µg/kg conjugated equine estrogens (Cee). Drugs or drug vehicle were administered by gavage once a day for 21 days. Upon sacrifice, the uteri were removed and weighed. Fragments of uterine horns were collected and fixed in 10% formaldehyde and processed for paraffin inclusion. The histological sections were stained by hematoxylin and eosin and evaluated microscopically by means of an image analyzer to quantify the myometrial thickness and the number of blood vessels and eosinophils. The data were studied by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test. RESULTS: isoflavones in the concentration of 300 mg/kg induced a significant increase in the myometrium thickness (GExtr300=25.6±5.0 mm) compared to control (GPropi=5.5±0.5 mm). The effect of this high dose is similar to the estrogen effect (GCee=27.5±7.9 mm). In low doses (10 mg/kg), the effect was similar to control. Isoflavones (GExtr300) induced also an increase in the number of blood vessels (GPropi=3.5±1.6; GExtr300=10.2±3.6 vessels/mm²) and of eosinophils (CPropi=0.15±0.01; GExtr300=4.3±0.9 eosinophils/mm²). These effects were comparable to those produced by Cee treatment in GCee (9.2±1.1 eosinophils/mm²). CONCLUSION: a high-dose treatment with isoflavones (300 mg/kg per day, 21 days) elicited an estrogen-like, highly significant proliferative action on the rat myometrium.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2002;24(4):227-231
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032002000400003
Purpose: to evaluate the variations in vascular anatomy by assessing the number of vessels of the proximal and distal urethra, of the vesicourethral canal and of the bladder, during and after pregnancy in rats. Method: thirty female rats, with a positive test for pregnancy, were divided into three groups of 10 animals each: GI - rats on the 10th day of pregnancy; GII - rats on the 20th day of pregnancy; GIII - rats on the 5th day of puerperium; a control group (GIV) composed of 10 rats in the estrous phase. The vessels were stained by the method of Masson and counted with a 25-dot integration ocular, coupled to a light microscope, with an objective of 40X. The studied regions were proximal and distal urethra, vesicourethral canal and bladder. Results: there was no significant variation in the vessel number in the bladder, in the vesicourethral canal and in the proximal urethra during gestation. In the distal urethra of the group IV there were 13.7 vessels, less than that observed in the pregnant groups (20.5 to 24.4 vessels). Conclusion: the pregnant rats had a larger number of vessels in the distal urethra than those in the estrous phase. There were no differences regarding the other sites.