[16−3H]Progesterone metabolism in advanced pregnancy and in oophorectomized-hysterectomized women: urinary ketonic metabolites

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Abstract
[16-H3]Progesterone was injected intramuscularly into 2 women in the last trimester of pregnancy and into 2 oophorectomized-hysterectomized patients who served as a control group. The urinary recovery of tritium in the various components of the neutral ketonic fraction is reported. The major ketonic radiometabolite in both experimental groups is 3[alpha]-hydroxy-5j3-pregnan-20-one; a minor constituent is 5[beta]-pregnane-3:20-dione. A significant portion, 10-14%, of the radioactivity in the ketonic fraction in pregnancy urine is in an unidentified highly polar material. This radioactive material was not detected in the urine of oophor-ectomized-hysterectomized subjects. The daily endogenous production of progesterone in advanced pregnancy was estimated from measurements of the specific activity of urinary 3[alpha]-hydroxy-5[beta]-pregnan-20-one; these estimates were in fair agreement with those previously obtained on the basis of the specific activity of urinary 5[beta]-pregnane-3[alpha]:20[alpha]-diol. Procedures for the separation of certain urinary progesterone metabolites by reverse-phase partition column chroma-tography are described.