Abstract
Summary
The effects of time of administration of cortisol, an estrogen antagonist, on estrogen-induced edema production and cell division were studied in uteri of ovariectomized rats. The adrenocortical hormone depressed or prevented these responses when given within 2 hours following estradiol administration; when injection was delayed longer than 2 hours, cortisol no longer completely inhibited the uterine hydration response to estradiol nor did it depress cell division. The results indicate that the acute (24 hour) growth effect, stimulated by estrogen in uterine epithelium, is dependent upon hormone-tissue interactions occurring within the first 2 hours following estrogen injection. Beyond this period, the stimulated sequence culminating in growth appears to be self sustaining and not further subject to cortisol antagonism.
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