[Study on uterine peroxidase as a specific marker of estrogen-dependence in rat (author's transl)]

Uterine Peroxidase (UP) can be induced by the administration of estradiol (E2) in the rat. We studied whether this biochemical parameter can be a specific marker of estrogen-dependence of rat uterus. 1. UP content in both immature castrated mature rat uteri was negligible. Whereas UP could be detected after vaginal openning of intact rats. 2. UP induction by E2 administration was first detected at 15-day-old rat uteri. 3. UP induction by E2 or mare serum gonadotropin was detected in both immature and castrated mature rats with the increase of uterine weight. 4. UP induction by E2 was observed only in estrogen-dependent tissues, such as uterus and vagina. 5. UP induction by E2 was prominently suppressed by the treatment with actinomycin-D, cycloheximide and tamoxifen. These results suggest that UP induction by E2 is an useful specific marker when hormone-dependence of rat uterus is investigated.