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Morphological Changes Induced by 6-Month Treatment of Intact and Ovariectomized Mice with Tamoxifen and the Pure Antiestrogen EM-800

Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, Le Centre Hospitalier de l’Université Laval Research Center and Laval University, Québec, G1V 4G2, Canada

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Professor Fernand Labrie, MRC Group in Molecular Endocrinology, CHUL Research Center, 2705 Laurier Boulevard, Québec, G1V 4G2, Canada.

The present study compares the effects of tamoxifen and EM-800, both administered at the oral daily dose of 100 µg for 6 months, on the uterus, vagina, and mammary gland in the mouse at histopathological examination. Treatment of intact animals with EM-800 resulted in uterine and vaginal atrophy even greater than that achieved after ovariectomy, while the developmental growth of the mammary gland was completely blocked and serum LH was increased. In ovariectomized animals, treatment with EM-800 decreased uterine and vaginal wt below the values observed in control ovariectomized mice while no significant change was observed on serum LH, thus indicating the lack of estrogenic activity of EM-800.

Tamoxifen, on the other hand, showed a stimulatory estrogenic-like action on the mouse uterus in both intact and ovariectomized animals, thus resulting in moderate to severe endometrial hyperplasia. These morphological changes were accompanied by a marked stimulation of both the estrogenic and androgenic 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as well as 5-reductase uterine activities. The histological atrophic changes observed in the vagina after tamoxifen treatment were less pronounced than those seen after treatment with EM-800. The agonistic estrogen-like action of tamoxifen was also illustrated by the suppression of serum LH levels in ovariectomized animals.

A marked stimulation of the ovarian stroma, accompanied by a significant reduction in folliculogenic activity, was observed after EM-800 or tamoxifen administration, although the interstitial ovarian hyperplasia was more pronounced after EM-800 treatment. While both antiestrogens blocked the developmental growth of the mammary gland, EM-800 showed more potent antiestrogenic activity than tamoxifen. The highly potent and specific antiestrogenic activity of EM-800 suggests that this compound could improve the therapy of breast cancer while avoiding the undesirable stimulation of the endometrium.

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