THE NATURE OF THE ESTROGENIC SUBSTANCE IN HUMAN MALE URINE AND BULL TESTIS*†

Abstract

The fact that male urine and testis tissue contain estrogenic activity has been known for some time. Fee, Marrian, Parkes (1), Glimm and Wadehn (2), Lacqueur and de Jongh (3), Zondek (4, 5), and Loewe (6) have reported the presence of estrogenic substance in male urines. Dodds, Greenwood, and Gallimore (7), Laqueur and de Jongh (3), and Brouha and Simmonet (8) have reported estrogenic activity in testis. Most of the workers have confined themselves to a qualitative study by means of the reaction on spayed mice or rats. Fee, Marrian, and Parkes have suggested that the active material is identical with the female sex hormone “estrin” on the basis of the marked uterine hypertrophy observed in spayed female rats and the positive vaginal smear reaction. Zondek makes the assertion that the estrogenic substance in stallion urine is similar to the follicular hormone on the basis of the production of uterine hypertrophy, an antimasculine action, the induction of lactation in the male guinea pig, and the positive vaginal smear reaction. However, it must be remembered that estrus and uterine hypertrophy are biological reactions produced in greater or less degree by the two female hormones thus far isolated. It has also been shown by Cook, Dodds, Hewett, and Lawson (9) that certain synthetic phenanthrene and dibenzanthracene derivatives are also capable of producing estrus and uterine hypertrophy. Therefore, we feel that a quantitative biological study is necessary to differentiate among theelin, theelol, and any other possible estrogenic substance. In this communication we have undertaken to characterize this estrogenic activity in human male urine and bull testis by comparative quantitative biological studies on these preparations and on the crystalline female sex hormones, theelin and theelol.