Endogenous peroxidase: specific marker enzyme for tissues displaying growth dependency on estrogen.

Data derived from a correlated morphological and biochemical study suggest the following: (a) estradiol-17beta, diethylstilbestrol, the estrogen antagonists nafoxidine (Upjohn 11,000), and Parke Davis C1628 induce synthesis of an endogenous peroxidase in the epithelium of target tissues like the vagina, the cervix, the uterus, and in the acinar cells of the estrogen-dependent rat mammary tumor; (b) peroxidase is a "specific" secretory protein of the estrogen-sensitized uterine endometrium; (c) peroxidase synthesis is not a nonspecific response to steroid hormone action, since progesterone and testosterone do not induce its synthesis; (d) endogenous peroxidase is a possible diagnositc protein for the detection of estrogen-dependent growing tissues, including breast cancer; (e) movement of exogenous horseradish peroxidase from the interstitium to the uterine lumina is restricted by tight junctions located at the apices of epithelial cells. Estrogen and antagonists do not appear to influence the transepithelial movement of exogenous peroxidase into the lumen.