ACTION OF PREGNANT MARE SERUM ON THE PRODUCTION OF TESTOSTERONE IN VIVO AND IN VITRO

Abstract

Pregnant mare serum (PMS) increased the secretion of testosterone and the incorporation of acetate-1-C14 into testosterone-Cl4 when administered intravenously to anesthetized dogs, whether the PMS was given as a single rapid injection or by continuous infusion during a period of 60 min. When PMS was added to slices of rabbit testis in vitro, it increased both the incorporation of acetate-l-C14 into testosterone-Cl4 and the synthesis of testosterone as shown by measurements of radioactivity and mass of testosterone-Cl4. It is therefore concluded that PMS is capable of increasing the biosynthesis of testosterone by testicular tissue and that the response of the testis to PMS is qualitatively the same as that to interstitial cell-stimulating hormone.