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The effects of estradiol (EDP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) on histological and stereological features of adrenocorticotropic (ACTH) cells in peripubertal female rats were examined. The first group of females received five injections of EDP (0.25 mg/kg b.w.), every second day from the 4th to 14th day after birth, and was killed at the peripubertal stage. The second group of females was given two injections of pregnyl-gonadotrophinum chorionicum (HCG; 50 IU/kg body weight) on the 36th and 37th days after birth, and it was killed 24 h after the last treatment. The controls were injected with an equivalent volume of the corresponding vehicle. ACTH cells were immunohistochemically labeled and stereologically evaluated. Stereological analysis showed that the volume of ACTH cells and their volume density in peripubertal females treated with EDP, were decreased by 15.6\% and 53.8\% (p < 0.05), respectively, compared to the controls. In HCG-treated animals, the observed parameters were increased by 39.2\% and 15.4\% (p < 0.05), respectively, in comparison with the control females. These findings suggest that the application of EDP or HCG exerted opposite effects on the stereological features of pituitary ACTH cells. Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia {[}ON 173009]

Ageing in men is accompanied by an increased occurrence of osteoporosis, but traditional hormonal replacement therapy elevates the risk of developing endocrine cancer. Vitex agnus-castus L. (Vac) essential oil is commonly used as an alternative therapy for ageing symptoms in both men and women. It is known that calcitonin (CT), thyroid C cell hormone, inhibits bone resorption. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the influence of Vac essential oil administration on the immunohistomorphometric features of thyroid C cells and bone metabolism in 16-month-old male Wistar rats. The first group of animals (n=8) was treated subcutaneously (s.c.) with 60 mg/kg of Vac essential oil once a day for 3 weeks. Control animals (n=8) received sterile olive oil s.c. by the same schedule. After Vac treatment significant increases (p

Vitex Agnus-CastusL. Essential Oil Increases Human Erythrocyte Membrane FluidityErythrocyte membrane fluidity is related to their rheologic behavior, the dynamic quality of erythrocytes, which is tempted in hypertension and atherosclerosis. An increased risk of these and other cardiovascular diseases occurs in ageing women. Menopause-related conditions are often treated with hormone replacement therapy that may increase the risk of malignancies.Vitex agnus-castusL. essential oil contains various organic compounds (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and terpenoids), and is increasingly used as an alternative therapy for menopausal symptoms. These components of the oil may be incorporated into cell membranes, thereby changing the membrane fluidity. The aim of this study was to determine the effects ofVitex agnus-castusessential oil on human erythrocyte membrane fluidity at graded depths. We used Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy and fatty acid spin probes (5-doxyl stearic acid and 12-doxyl stearic acid), whose spectra depend on membrane fluidity. After treatment withVitex agnus-castusessential oil the erythrocytes had a significant (p=0.029) and reversible increase in membrane fluidity in the deeper hydrophobic membrane regions, with no change (p>0.05) in fluidity near the membrane's hydrophilic surface. These results document increased fluidity of the human erythrocyte membrane byVitex agnus-castusessential oil, and this action may be useful in patients with menopause-related hypertension and other cardiovascular conditions.

Administration of estradiol or calcium, or combined, represents the classical therapeutic approach in the treatment of some menopausal symptoms. We have studied the effects of estradiol dipropionate (EDP) and calcium glucoheptonate (Ca) on morphological and hormonal features of the adrenal gland in 14-month-old female Wistar rats. The animals were treated with EDP (0.625 mg/kg b.w.) or Ca (11.4 mg/kg b.w.) daily for two weeks, with control rats receiving vehicle alone by the same schedule. The cell volumes in the zona glomerulosa (ZG) and zona fasciculata (ZF) were 11.2% and 5.5% greater (P < 0.05) and in the zona reticularis (ZR) 13.0% smaller (P < 0.05) in the EDP group than in the control group. In the Ca group, cell volume in the ZG was increased by 5.6% (P < 0.05), while cell volumes in the ZF and ZR were decreased by 26.0% and 14.7%, respectively (P < 0.05), in comparison with control values. Serum aldosterone and corticosterone concentrations were higher in the EDP-treated (by 27.8% and 19.8%, respectively) and Ca-treated (by 80.0% and 24.1%, respectively) groups in comparison with the control group (P < 0.05). These data suggest that EDP and Ca treatments have stimulatory effects on the ZG and ZF, but inhibitory effects on the ZR in middle-aged female rats. Ministry for Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia [143007B]

Soy isoflavones are diphenolic compounds that are frequently used for alternative treatment of ageing symptoms in both genders. They operate at principally two hierarchical levels of functional organization - cellular and molecular, while these 'types' of action appear to have indefinite borders. Soy isoflavone action at the cellular level involves inter alia the effects on cell mechanics. This epigenetic and modular determinant of cell function and fate is defined by: the anchorage to extracellular matrix (ECM) and neighboring cells, cytoskeleton organization, membrane tension and vesicle trafficking. Soy isoflavones have been reported to: (i) generally fashion an inert cell phenotype in some cancers and enhance the cell anchorage in connective tissues, via the effects on ECM proteins, focal adhesion kinases-mediated events and matrix metalloproteinases inhibition; (ii) affect cytoskeleton integrity, the effects being related to Ca(2+) ions fluxes and involving cell retraction or differentiation/proliferation-related variations in mechanical status; (iii) increase, remain "silent" or decrease membrane tension/fluidity, which depends on polarity and a number and arrangement of functional groups in applied isoflavone; (iv) provoke inhibitory effects on vesicle trafficking and exo-/endocytosis, which are usually followed by changed cell morphology. Here we present and discuss the abundance of effects arising from cells' "encounter" with soy isoflavones, focusing on different morphofunctional definers of cell mechanics.