Intracellular collagen in the nonpregnant and IUD-containing rat uterus.

An experiment designed to study the effects of the copper IUD on the virgin rat uterus has revealed the presence of intracellular collagen fibrils in control uteri and in uteri that have contained a copper IUD for three months. The cells containing the collagen are found in the stroma in close proximity to the uterine epithelium. The collagen is found within membrane-bound cytoplasmic vacuoles that vary in morphology. In some cases the fibrils are tightly packed and linear, with no other material evident in the vacuole. In other examples, the fibrils are randomly arranged and the vacuoles contain a punctuate material which is characteristic of phagolysosomes. Finally, cytoplasmic vacuoles are seen which contain ill-defined debris and poorly-visualized structures that exhibit a periodicity, suggesting a terminal phase of fibril breakdown. All animals were sacrificed in metestrus, and the results indicate that intracellular collagen is present in the nulliparous rat uterus at this stage of the cycle. In addition, this phenomenon does not appear to be influenced by the presence of a copper IUD over a period of three months.