Persistent Vaginal Cornification in Goldthioglucose-Treated BALB/c/Ki Mice

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Abstract
A single injection of various concentrations of goldthioglucose (GTG) was administered to adult female BALB/c/Ki mice. The characteristic weight gain following GTG was proportional to the dose. Animals that attained a body weight of 40 g or more by 90 days after GTG demonstrated persistent vaginal cornification. Animals that weighed less than 40 g after 90 days continued to have regular vaginal cycles. However, the persistent vaginal cornification started approximately 15 days after GTG, when the body weights were comparable to those of controls. A quantitative determination was made of the amount of damage present in the ventral medial region of the hypothalamus treated animals. Those animals having greater than a "critical" amount of damage in this region of the hypothalamus attained body weights more than 40 g plus per sistent vaginal cornification; animals with less hypothalamic damage attained body weights less than 40 g and cycled regularly. Ovaries from animals with persistent vaginal cornification revealed a striking replacement of typical stromal cells by inter stitial-like cells. These data indicate that altered ovarian function in GTG-treated mice is not a function of obesity per se, but rather is related to the degree of hypothalamic damage produced by GTG as it involves different regulatory "centers.".