The effect of retinol and retinoic acid on the morphology of the rat uterus

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Abstract
At 20 days of age, 72 Holtzman rats were divided into six groups (10–14 rats/group) and were placed on a vitamin A‐deficient diet. The animals in groups I and II were kept intact, while the animals in the remaining groups were ovariectomized at 20–22 days of age. The rats in groups I, III and V received a dietary supplement of retinoic acid (50 μg) while the diet of the animals in groups II, IV and VI was supplemented with retinol (25 μg). In addition to the dietary supplements the animals of groups V and VI were treated with estradiol dipropionate (1 μg). The dietary supplements and hormone were given three times per week. The rats were autopsied after 15 weeks on the experiment.In the intact rats of group I metaplastic changes were observed in the luminal and glandular epithelia. With the exception of two uterine sections showing small areas of squamous metaplasia in the glands, morphological alterations of the uterine epithelia were not observed in the rats of group II. Uterine metaplasia was not seen in the rats of groups III and IV. Extensive metaplastic changes were observed in the animals of group V. The endometria of the rats in group VI were lined primarily by high columnar cells, but a few uterine sections contained small foci of stratified squamous metaplasia.The results indicate that retinol is effective in preventing the morphological changes in the rat uterus due to vitamin A deficiency.