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The effect of tibolone on endometrial IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 levels in ovariectomized rats
N Kemal Kuşcu1, Faik M Koyuncu, Sevinc Inan
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45020 Manisa, Turkey. nkk@ixir.com
Objective:
The goal of this study was to search the effects of two different doses of tibolone on endometrial IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 levels in ovariectomized rats.
Methods:
Eighteen adult, female, 80-90-days-old, Wistar rats with an average weight of 250 g underwent bilateral ovariectomy under general anesthesia. After waiting for 4 weeks, they were randomized into three groups to receive either oral tibolone in two different doses or placebo. The treatment was continued for 5 weeks, and then the rats were sacrificed and the endometria were analyzed.
Results:
Low columnar epithelium of the endometrial surface, longer epithelium and stratified squamous epithelium were seen in the control, low-dose and high-dose groups, respectively. The staining intensity of IGF-1 was mild in control, and moderate in both treatment groups, the difference between control the treatment groups was significant (P=0.015 for group L, and P=0.03 for group H). The staining intensity of IGFBP-1 was moderate in control, and strong in groups L and H. Again the difference was significant between control and both treatment groups (P=0.039 for grup L, and P=0.03 for group H). No significant difference was noted between each treatment group for both IGF-1 and IGFBP-1.
Conclusion:
Tibolone caused histological changes in endometrium and stimulated IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 staining. Both low and high dose treatments led to moderate and strong staining intensities for IGF-1 and IGFBP-1, respectively. The strong staining intensity of IGFBP-1 is likely due to the progestagenic effect of tibolone.
