EFFECTS OF OESTRADIOL ON WATER UPTAKE AND α-AMINOISOBUTYRIC ACID ACCUMULATION BY UTERI OF HEPATECTOMIZED RATS

Abstract

SUMMARY Adult Long Evans rats were ovariectomized and, one month later, were subjected to partial hepatectomy. Immature Long Evans rats were either partially hepatectomized in one step, or complete hepatectomy was accomplished by a two-stage operation which included ligation of the inferior vena cava followed by a partial evisceration. The response of these animals to injected oestradiol was compared with that of sham-operated controls by observing uptake of water by the uterus in vivo, and also by estimating the ability of surviving uterine fragments to accumulate radioactive α-amino-isobutyric acid in vitro. It was found that partial or complete hepatectomy did not abolish the response of the uterus to oestradiol. These results seem to exclude an essential role for the liver in the early response of a target organ to an oestrogenic hormone.