INCREASE IN TRANSMITTER CONTENT OF ADRENERGIC NERVES IN THE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT OF FEMALE RABBITS AFTER OESTROGEN TREATMENT

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Abstract
Changes in the noradrenaline content of adrenergic nerves innervating the reproductive organs in rabbits treated with 17β-oestradiol were studied by fluorescence microscopy. The changes were correlated with alterations in the total noradrenaline content of the organs as determined fluorimetrically. The heart was used as control tissue. 17β-oestradiol produced a marked increase in noradrenaline of the neurones innervating the muscle coats of the uterus and vagina, both in intact and oophorectomized animals. A similar, though less regular, increase was found in the oviduct, but no such increase was observed in the ovary or the heart. Thus, adrenergic nerves to the female genital tract can be influenced by hormonal treatment to behave in a way similar to that previously found during the early stages of pregnancy. The results are discussed in the light of observations showing that the uterus and vagina are innervated by a special type of short adrenergic neurones; the heart and ovary, by ordinary long neurones from the sympathetic chain; and the oviduct by both types of nerves.