HUMAN FOETAL SYNTHESIS OF TESTOSTERONE FROM PERFUSED PROGESTERONE

Abstract

SUMMARY Two male and four female human foetuses of 16–20 weeks gestation were perfused with [4- 14 C]progesterone. Subsequently, testosterone and androstenedione bearing a 14 C-label were isolated in significant amounts from the testes and adrenals, respectively, of the male foetuses. Both C 19 -steroids were also isolated from the perfusate of one of the male foetuses. Neither C 19 -steroid was present in the livers of the male foetuses or in the ovaries, adrenals, livers or perfusates of the female foetuses. It is concluded that the mid-term male foetus can readily synthesize testosterone from the large amounts of progesterone of placental origin present in the foetal circulation. The results suggest that the conversion is primarily a testicular function, but a direct or indirect adrenal involvement cannot be excluded.