Our goal is to understand the hormonal mechanisms that regulate the periodic changes that occur in the reproductive tract of female primates during the menstrual cycle. New research tools are now available to advance this endeavor. These include monoclonal antibodies against the estrogen, progestin and most recently the androgen receptor, as well as cDNA probes with which to detect the mRNA's for these proteins. In addition, antibodies and probes are available against various growth factors and their receptors, including the epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor and insulin-like growth factor. Preliminary evidence indicates that estrogens enhance the levels of the androgen receptor and the EGF receptor in tissues of the reproductive tract. We have developed transplantation techniques so that the local effects of steroids and/or growth factors can be tested by infusing them directly into subcutaneous grafts of endometrial or oviductal tissues. Consequently our new work has the following specific aims for study of the female reproductive tract in rhesus monkeys: (1) evaluate the hormonal control and cellular localization of the androgen receptor protein; (2) evaluate the hormonal control and cellular localization of various growth factors, their mRNAs and their receptors; (3) infuses steroids and growth factors into subcutaneous transplants of oviductal and endometrial tissues to facilitate analysis of the interactions between the sex steroids and various growth factors in regulating growth of the tract; and (4) evaluate hormonal regulation of mRNA's for the estrogen, progestin and androgen receptors in the female reproductive tract. Endometriosis, endometrial adenocarcinoma, and other diseases of the reproductive tract are all hormonally influenced, abnormal growth processes that remain severe threats to human health. Our hope is that these diseases may ultimately be ameliorated as we gain deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which hormones and growth factors interact to control the cyclic changes of the reproductive tract in nonhuman primates.
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