Author:

Keywords:

Androstanes, Animals, Carbon Isotopes, Cell Nucleus, Chromatography, Paper, Chromatography, Thin Layer, Crystallization, Dihydrotestosterone, Female, Kidney, Male, NADP, Oxidoreductases, Rats, Sterols, Testosterone, Tritium, In Vitro Techniques, 06 Biological Sciences, 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, Endocrinology & Metabolism

Abstract:

The in vitro metabolism of testosterone has been studied in a purified nuclear fraction of kidneys obtained from male and female rats. In the presence of an NADPH-generating system, 1β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one (dihydrotestosterone) is formed by this nuclear fraction in both sexes. Nuclear 5α-reduction of testosterone is thus not limited to accessory sex organs or to male animals. Reduction of dihydrotestosterone to 5α-androstane-3α, 1β-diol, on the contrary, amounts to about 20% of the total Δ4-5α-reduced metabolites in nuclei from male animals, while it is almost absent in nuclei from female rats. © 1971 by The Endocrine Society.