Pattern of steroid interaction with inducers of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in several cloned estradiol-responsive stromal cell strains from mouse endometrium

Several steroid responsive stromal cell strains were isolated from normal mouse endometrium. Both estrogen responsive and progesterone responsive strains were obtained. The estrogen responsive cells were also responsive to diethylstilbestrol (DES). The progesterone responsive strains were inhibited by estrone and estriol. One of the estrogen responsive cell strains, E041, was cloned in the presence and absence of 17-beta-estradiol (E2). Of 14 clones developed in the absence of E2 and screened for responsivity of growth, six were significantly responsive to E2. Six of 26 clones developed in the presence of E2 were responsive to E2. Microsomes isolated from these clones were shown to have aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity which was inducible with either benzanthracene (BA) or 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The basal levels of AHH activity were significantly reduced by E2 in E2 responsive clones. The TCDD induced levels of AHH activity in the E2 responsive and E2 non-responsive clones were significantly reduced by E2. The BA induced levels of AHH were significantly increased by E2 in one of the clones. These results show that mouse endometrial stroma consists of a number of populations of cells with different specific proliferative and metabolic responses to steroids.