Persistent Vaginal Cornification in Mice Treated with Estrogen Prenatally

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Abstract
Twelve of 14 female mice of the ICR strain which had received a single injection of 50 .mu.g estradiol-17.beta. on day 17 of fetal life exhibited irreversible cornification or stratification of the vaginal epithelium which persisted after ovariectomy until sacrifice performed 42-48 days later. Eight of the 12 mice had corpora lutea in their ovaries removed at 3-5 mo. of age. A similar injection of estradiol on day 15 of fetal life induced irreversible cornification or stratification of the vaginal epithelium in 6 of 12 females and only 1 of the 6 had corpora lutea in its ovaries when removed at 3-5 mo. Mice given the same dose of estradiol on the day of birth or at 3 days of postnatal age invariably had ovaries bearing follicles of varying sizes and hypertrophied interstitial tissue but not corpora lutea. Changes in the vaginal epithelium in these animals were less pronounced compared to those in prenatally treated mice.