Experimental biologically active ovarian tumors in mice

X-ray irradiation of mice at puberty results in the production of two types of ovarian tumors: tubular adenomas derived from the surface epithelium and parenchymal lutein tumors. The parenchymal lutein tumors alone exhibit hormonal activity expressed in proliferative changes in the endometrium and vaginal mucosa. Histologically, these tumors are composed of granulosa and theca cells with varying degrees of luteinization. They are entirely comparable to the granulosa cell tumor and its excessively luteinized variant, the Lecene tumor, and the theca cell tumor of the human ovary. The luteinized ovarian tumors in mice are derived from the undifferentiated parenchyma. While the theca interna cells participate in the early proliferation and luteinization, the mature granulosa cells play no role in the genesis of these neoplasms. The histogenesis of the analogous human tumors may well be identical.