. Currents in biochemical research. Biochemistry -- Research; Biochemistry; Research. STEROID HORMONES would appear to be from I —> II -^ III. The conversion of I —> II has been accomplished by bacteria. It is interesting that A^-prcg- nenolone has been obtained as a naturally occurring substance thus far only from testis tissue; yet progesterone is a female hormone par excellence. Patient search for pregnenolone in female tissues appears desirable. Among the naturally occurring 19-carbon steroids, A^-dehydro- isoandrosterone (formula IV) corresponds to A*-pregnenolone. We would expect i
. Currents in biochemical research. Biochemistry -- Research; Biochemistry; Research. STEROID HORMONES would appear to be from I —> II -^ III. The conversion of I —> II has been accomplished by bacteria. It is interesting that A^-prcg- nenolone has been obtained as a naturally occurring substance thus far only from testis tissue; yet progesterone is a female hormone par excellence. Patient search for pregnenolone in female tissues appears desirable. Among the naturally occurring 19-carbon steroids, A^-dehydro- isoandrosterone (formula IV) corresponds to A*-pregnenolone. We would expect it, therefore, to be the immediate precursor of testos- terone (V) (the primary testis hormone). That the transformation of IV -^ V takes place appears probable on the basis of Danby's data for the perfusion of testis tissue with IV. The resulting high testoid activity in the perfusate might well be attributed to V which is the most active of all testoid steroids. That VI cannot arise directly from IV may be deduced from the fact that Dorfman and Hamilton (2) were unable to recover VI from the urines of eunuchoid men after the administration of dehydroisoandrosterone. OH. O II /^ HO- (IV) Dehydroisoandrosterone HO- A/ Testosterone (VI) Androsterone The light thrown on the nature of the immediate precursors of the sex hormones is meager indeed, but in the field of the adreno- corticosteroid hormones the darkness is almost total. We know only that these hormones from adrenal tissue are accompanied by inactive steroid substances which might be converted to active hormone by appropriate oxidation and reduction. It would be most instructive to perfuse such substances through adrenal glands to see if they are convertible to active hormone. While one may thus indicate possible chemical precursors of the known steroid hormones by administering model substances either iti vivo or in vitro, the normal course of metabolism will continue to be a matter of speculation until a more direct
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