Abstract
Summary and Conclusions
It appears from this study that Δ4 pregnen-in-20-on-3-ol-17 exhibits bisexual properties when administered subcutaneously in oil to immature, female rats, having an estrogen-like action on the uterus and vagina and an androgen-like action on the preputial glands and clitoris. The trophic effect on the genital tract appears to be a direct one and not mediated through the ovaries, as shown by the elicitation of similar effects in ovariec-tomized immature animals. Unlike testosterone, however, preg-neninolone appears not to have a stimulating effect upon the gonado-tropic activity of the hypophysis, as indicated by the absence of corpora lutea formation or evidence of follicle stimulation in the ovaries.
It is interesting to note that this compound possesses a unique variety of biological properties. In addition to its progesterone-like action on the endometrium, Courrier and Jost 14 have found that pregneninolone will maintain pregnancy in spayed rabbits and is androgenic in castrated rats and chicks. Furthermore, Emmens and Parkes 15 have shown that this compound has estrogen-like properties when administered to adult, female rats, as well as androgenic activity, as indicated by the capon comb growth. It is worthy of note that the introduction of the ethinyl group at the 17th carbon atom -of testosterone produced a compound possessing properties that are characteristic of estrogens, androgens and progesterone and at the same time has resulted in a loss of hypophyseotropic potency—the power to stimulate gonadotropic hormone secretion by the hypophysis.
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