Abstract
Extensive biological study has been made of the gonadotropic substance, prolan, which occurs in the urine of pregnant women. Unlike the gonadotropic hormone occurring in the anterior hypophysis itself, prolan even when concentrated, is sharply limited 1 in its capacity to cause development of the ovaries in immature rats. When combined with a special synergic principle of the anterior hypophysis, 2 , 3 a marked augmentation of the ovary weights occurs. The gonadotropic effects are then fully equal to those produced by the most potent extracts of the gland itself.
In the study of the synergism phenomenon with prolan-like substances from sources other than pregnancy, the urines of several types of malignancy were investigated. Among these cases was an individual suffering from embryonal carcinoma of the testis with generalized metastases. Ferguson 4 has shown the remarkably high prolan unitage in the urine of such cases.
The urine in question had an extraordinarily high unitage (50,000 mouse units per liter). In addition, the prolan-like substance from this patient possessed other unusual characteristics. It gave a remarkable stimulation to ovarian development with no demonstration of the limited effect characteristic of pregnancy-prolan. Indeed, this urinary product could be classified (in ability to give ovarian stimulation) with the most potent gonadotropic substances known, but like pregnancy prolan, the substance retained its ability to give augmentation of ovary weights when combined with the hypophyseal synergic principle. When the urinary product in question was tested in males there was a tremendous development of the seminal vesicles —much greater than shown by pregnancy-prolan. Table I summarizes the properties of this unusual urinary product as tested in immature male and female rats and compares its potency with pregnancy-prolan.
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