Abstract
Summary and Conclusions
1. A quantitative study was made of porphyrin-producing enzyme activities of Harderian glands and livers of normal and hypophysectomized albino rats. 2. Buffer-saline extracts were made from weighed quantities of each homogenized tissue. Measured amounts of extracts were mixed with 0.01 M solution of δ-amino-levulinic acid and incubated at 37° for 24 hours. 3. Extract of Harderian glands of normal and hypophysectomized rats showed approximately equal amounts of porphyrin-producing enzyme activity. The hypophysis appears to have little or no influence on this phase of activity of the Harderian gland. 4. Extracts of livers of hypophysectomized animals exhibited approximately twice as much porphyrin-producing enzyme activity as extracts of liver of normal animals. Extracts of liver from hypophysectomized rats also showed greater activity than extracts of Harderian glands. 5. It was concluded that the hypophysis exerts a relatively potent influence on porphyrin production by the liver.
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