Oestradiol transmission from males to females in the context of the Bruce and Vandenbergh effects in mice (Mus musculus)

Male mice actively direct their urine at nearby females, and this urine reliably contains unconjugated oestradiol (E(2)) and other steroids. Giving inseminated females minute doses of exogenous E(2), either systemically or intranasally, can cause failure of blastocyst implantation. Giving juvenile females minute doses of exogenous E(2) promotes measures of reproductive maturity such as uterine mass. Here we show that tritium-labelled E(2) …