Studies in Fetal Metabolism. II. Metabolism of Progesterone-4-C¹⁴and Pregnenolone-7α-H³in Human Fetal Testes

Abstract

Human fetal testes were separately incubated with progesterone-4-C14 and 5-pregnenolone-7α-H3 as substrates. The isolated and identified metabolites showed that an array of enzymes, including 3β-ol-dehydrogenase, 17β-ol-dehydrogenase, side-chain splitting, 20α- and β-ol-dehydrogenases, 21-hydroxylase, 17α-hydroxylase and 16α-hydroxylase, were active. The metabolites included 4-androstene-3,17-dione and testosterone, which were isolated from each of the incubations, including that from the testes of the 11.0 cm C-R length embryo. The following metabolites were also isolated from the progesterone-4-C14 substrate incubations: 16α-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, 20α-hydroxyprogesterone, 20β-hydroxyprogesterone, desoxycorticosterone, Reichstein's compound S, 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one, and 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one. In addition, dehydroepiandrosterone, 17α-hydroxy-5-pregnenolone, and 3β,16α,17β-trihydroxy-5-androstene were isolated from the incubations using 5-pregnenol...