AUTORADIOGRAPHIC LOCALIZATION OF [H-3] ESTRADIOL IN EPIDIDYMIS, SEMINAL-VESICLES AND PROSTATE OF THE FETAL GUINEA-PIG

The selective uptake and localization of radioactivity in the fetal male reproductive organs (epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate) of the guinea‐pig (50–60 days of gestation) after in‐vivo and in‐situ subcutaneous injection of [3H]oestradiol was investigated by autoradiography. In 50–day‐old fetuses, the different areas of the epididymis showed selective retention of radioactivity in the nuclei of peritubular and stromal cells surrounding the epididymal duct; no retention was observed in the epididymal epithelium. A similar distribution of silver grains was observed in the 60‐day‐old fetus. Seminal vesicles and prostate sections from both 50‐ and 60‐day‐old fetuses showed concentration and retention of radioactivity only in stromal cells, whereas the epithelium did not exhibit silver grains. In all the tissues studied, the nuclear labelling was abolished after injection of [3H]oestradiol plus a 100‐fold excess of non‐labelled oestradiol. As the mesenchyme surrounding the epithelia of the epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate were labelled selectively with [3H]oestradiol, it is suggested that during fetal life of the guinea‐pig the mesenchymal stroma of these fetal male reproductive organs may be considered as a target tissue for oestrogen. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved