[Steroid hormone receptors in normal, dystrophic, dysplastic and carcinomatous vulva tissues]

We employed the agar gel electrophoresis method to determine in 63 samples of vulva tissue the cytoplasmatic receptors for oestradiol, dihydrotestosterone and dexamethasone. Tissues with a binding capacity of more than 5 femtomol/mg (fmol = 10(-15) mol) cell proteins were considered receptor positive. The study comprised 17 normal tissues of the vulva, 13 vulva biopsies at the end of the pregnancy period, 7 dystrophically changed tissues, 11 premalignant changes of the vulva and 15 squamous cell carcinomas. In normal as well as in benign or malignantly changed vulva, specific receptors were found for all the four steroids (ER, PR, DHTR, DExaR). Receptors were most frequent in normal vulva tissue (ER = 94%, PR = 54%, DHTR = 38%, DexaR = 83%) with binding-capacities of 8-650 fmol/mg cell proteins. ER levels were higher during the postmenopausal period than during the premenopausal period. In dystrophia the receptor pattern was almost the same as in healthy tissue. Biopsies conducted at the end of the pregnancy period showed in all cases despite the high endogenous oestrogen levels positive ER values up to 875 fmol/mg cell proteins, whereas PR and DTHR were present in only 20% or 25% with low binding capacities. Loss of receptors, particularly of PR, was seen in premalignant changes (dysplasia of vulva, carcinoma in situ) and in case of squamous cell carcinomas. On comparing the receptor distribution of clinically changed vulva tissue with healthy tissue we found only differences by degree but no fundamental differences in principle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)