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Table 3 The effect of injecting female B6A mice with estrogen at 5–7 days of age on thymocyte and splenocyte numbers at adulthood.

From: The estrogen-injected female mouse: new insight into the etiology of PCOS

Age and Treatment

Thymocytes × 106

Splenocytes × 106

60-day-old, vehicle-injected [8]a

72.5 ± 12.0b

-----

60-day-old, estrogen-injected [14]

43.0 ± 4.8*

-----

100-day-old, vehicle-injected [10]

122.6 ± 19.1

22.0 ± 3.7

100-day-old, estrogen-injected [14]

57.0 ± 7.8**

52.5 ± 5.4*

150-day-old, vehicle-injected [18]

-----

20.4 ± 1.6

150-day-old, estrogen-injected [27]

-----

50.2 + 5.8***

  1. Beginning at 5 days of age, mice were given 3 daily sc injections of 10 μl sesame oil: ethanol (9:1; v:v) {vehicle), with and without 20 μg estradiol-17β. In one study the mice were killed at 60 days of age, thymuses removed, and thymocytes visualized under a light microscope using the Trypan Blue exclusion test and counted in a hemocytometer. In a second study, the mice were killed at 100 days of age, and spleens also removed, and both splenocytes and thymocytes isolated and counted. In a third study, the mice were killed at 150 days of age and only splenocytes were counted.
  2. aNumber of animals in each group.
  3. bMean ± S.E.M.
  4. *Significant at p < .05. **Significant at p < .01. ***Significant at p < .001.
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Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology

ISSN: 1477-7827

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