Table 1.
The treatment schemes with hormone antagonists and hormones
| Treatment | Abbreviation | Gonadectomy (age) | Treatment period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonist treatments | |||
| Control (no treatment) | C | – | – |
| Bromocriptine | Br | – | 2–6 months |
| Mifepristone | Mf | – | 2–6 months |
| Tamoxifen | Tx | – | 2–6 months |
| Mifepristone+tamoxifen | MfTx | – | 2–6 months |
| Short tamoxifen | sTx | – | 7 days–2 months |
| Short tamoxifen+mifepristone | sTxMf | – | 7 days–2 months (Tx) |
| 2–6 months (Mf) | |||
| Gonadectomy | Gx | 2 months | |
| Hormone treatments | |||
| Control (no treatment) | C | 2 months | 2–4.5 months |
| Gx+estradiol | Gx+E2 | 2 months | 2–4.5 months |
| Gx+progesterone | Gx+P4 | 2 months | 2–4.5 months |
| Gx+estradiol+progesterone | Gx+E2/P4 | 2 months | 2–4.5 months |
Tx was administered as a 1cm long subcutaneous silastic tubes, and progesterone and mifepristone were administered as 2 cm long subcutaneous silastic tubes (inner diameter 1.58 mm/outer diameter 2.41 mm; Dow Corning, Midland, MI, USA) with both ends sealed with silastic adhesive (Elastocil RTV-1 Silicone Rubber, Wacker-Chemis GmBH, Munich, Germany). Bromocriptine and estradiol were administered as commercial subcutaneous pellets, and changed every 80–90 days after the initial implantation. Progesterone was administered in a 1cm subcutaneous silastic tube. The mice in the short tamoxifen and tamoxifen+mifepristone experiments received tamoxifen by daily injections (10 mg/kg body weight s.c.) between 7 and 21 days, thereafter by silastic tubes until 2 months. All mice were killed at the end of the treatment periods.