Œstrogen–Insulin Interaction on the Uterus of the Rat

Abstract

THE physiological activity of a specific hormone may be greatly modified by the presence or absence of other hormones, as evidenced, for example, by the Houssay effect¹; the inhibitory action of adrenal cortical hormones on the response of the rat uterus to œstrogens²; the interaction of the various cestrogens on uterine growth³; the synergistic effect of growth hormone and thyroxine on body-growth in hypophysectomized animals⁴, etc. Of more immediate relevance to the subject to be treated here is the finding that the response of the mouse vagina to œstrogen is heightened by local application of insulin⁵; analogies between the effects of œstrogen and those of insulin on the mitotic activity of mouse ear epidermis have been pointed out by Bullough⁶. Other similarities between the generalized action of insulin and the specific effects of œstrogens on their target organs include an increased potassium uptake by the responding tissue^7–9, and a heightening of glycogenesis and lipogenesis^10–16. The foregoing observations, together with the fact that except in a few specific preparations œstrogens are ineffective in vitro ¹⁵, and in large doses produce a transient diabetes¹⁶, suggest a possible interaction between insulin and œstrogen.