Endometrial Lipid Inclusions in the Estrogen Stimulated Uterus

Abstract

Cytochemical studies have been made of the uterine epithelium of ovariectomized mice, with and without estrogen stimulation. The incorporation of malachite green into a glutaraldehyde fixative has made possible the retention and visualization of a granule population in the apical epithelium of estrogen stimulated mouse endometrium that has not been previously described. These granules range in excess of 1 µm in diameter and appear to be released into the uterine lumen. It is suggested that this granule pattern may reflect the biochemically described increase in phospholipid metabolism after estrogen stimulation. In the absence of estrogen stimulation, the appearance of lipid granule patterns in the endometrium of spayed mice was consistent with earlier reports.