Use of Colchicine in Detecting Hormonal Effects on Vaginal Epithelium of Menstruating and Castrate Women.

Abstract

Medical Collc~rc, S e w York City. r -1 he interesting observat ic )11 that colchicine accuniulates dividing cells in nietapliase 1))pi-ei-eiit iiig it completion of mitotic division has been niatle w e o f in the stud!-( ) f the action of estrogens,' androgens,' and gonatlotropiiis" in aiiinials. The great increase in the number of mitotic figures o1)taiiied \\-itli t lie colchicine technic over the small number see11 whcn tlit. 1iortii01i~'s are used alone, has served to throw light on scvc-ral 1)rcyioiisIy obscure aspects of the action of these liorniones.The use o f the colcliiciiie technic in relation to hormonal action has hitherto been confined t c ) animals, presumably because doses coinparahie to those tbffcctivc. in aninials wodd exceed the liinit o f safet! f , w this (lriig i i i iiian. However, it seenied likeljthat this techiiic cotiltl Iw saiel!-applied to man were the alkaloid h u g l i t , in adeclu:ite coiiceiitratiotis, in direct contact with accessible structures l i l x the -\-agiiial el)itheliuni and skin, and the total amount kept within recog;iizahly safe limits. This report deals with experinients designed to explore the usefulness of the colchicine technic in revealing the effects o f various hormones on the vaginal niucosa of nienopaiisal castrates atid Iiiciistruating women.Mpthods. Colchicine \vas incorporated into gelatin pessaries for insertion into the vaginal vault. Vaginal biopsies were taken 17-24 hours after imertion of pessaries containing 1-3 mg of the alkaloid. A nuniber o f control hiopsies were taken just prior to the insertion of the pessary. 'The subjects were 4 menopausal castrates and 6 menstruating women. Vaginal smears were taken daily to ascertain the effects o f the horniones used with the castrate group. ~~ ~ * Aided by grants from the Couiwil on Pharmacy and (;hemistry of the Amer-The estradiol benzoate (Progpiion R ) and progesterone (Proluton) were kindly 1