Localization of 3H-estradiol-17beta in diethylstilbestrol-induced adenosis.

Treatment of neonatal mice with diethylstilbestrol results in the appearance of adenosis in the uterine cervix and upper part of the vagina in later life. Using dry mount autoradiography, the uptake and distribution of [3H]-estradiol in the same regions were studied after in vivo injections with [3H]-estradiol. It was demonstrated that the adenosis cells have the ability of uptake and nuclear concentration of estradiol and are thus target cells for estrogens. The importance of this finding for the development of malignancy is discussed in relation to the clear cell adenocarcinomas in young women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero.