Role of 19-Hydroxy,Δ4-Androstene-3,17-Dione as an Intermediate for Aromatization of Δ4-Androstene-3,17-Dione by Placental Microsomes1

Abstract

Under conditions which give total conversion of C¹⁴-androstenedione to estrogen by placental microsomes, 19-hydroxyandrostenedione was also introduced to act as a trapping agent for radioactivity. The results obtained in these experiments show that the 19-hydroxyandrostenedione had a much lower specific activity than the estrogen at any time and therefore that free 19-hydroxyandrostenedione could not be an obligatory intermediate in aromatization.