Stereological investigations of thyroid in female rats treated neonatally with estrogen
Abstract
The height of follicular cells and the volume fractions of these cells, colloid and interstitium in the thyroid gland of female rats neonatally treated with a single or two doses of estradiol diproprionate (OeDP) were examined using the stereological method. The female rats, neonatally treated with 1 mg OeDP on the third and on the third and sixth day of life were sacrificed on days 10, 16, 38, 80, 180 and 365. The up to now obtained results have shown that the follicular cell height in the thyroid of the treated females is significantly decreased from 38 to 180 days of life. The decrease of the volume density of the follicular cells and the increase of the volume density of colloid are most clearly evident on day 80 (P<0,001). The signs of increased proliferation rate of the follicular cells were evident in one year old treated animals.