HISTOCHEMICAL DEMONSTRATION OF KETOSTEROIDS IN NORMAL AND NEOPLASTIC TESTES1

Abstract

A METHOD for the histochemical demonstration of active carbonyl groups of lipoid in various endocrine glands such as adrenal cortex, ovary, testicle, and placenta has been described elsewhere (Ashbel and Seligman, 1949; Seligman and Ashbel, 1949; Seligman, Friedman and Herz, 1949). Normal and neoplastic nervous tissue (Seligman and Ashbel, 1951), adrenal cortical tumors associated with precocious development and virilism (Seligman and Ashbel, 1951b), and adrenal cortical tumors with and without Cushing's syndrome (Seligman and Ashbel, in preparation) have been studied with this method. Supplementary reactions which demonstrated the active carbonyl groups to be ketonic in character and not aldehydic (Seligman and Ashbel, 1951a and b) have been performed regularly. Therefore, whenever lipoidal ketones are demonstrated in tissue known to contain ketosteroid, it is presumed although not conclusively proved that ketosteroids are responsible for the reaction.