IN VITRO METABOLISM OF ANDROGENS IN WHOLE HUMAN BLOOD

Abstract
Radioactive dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, androstenedione, 5-androstene-3[beta],17[beta]-diol, and 4-androstene-3/3,17/3-diol have been incubated with whole blood obtained from normal males and females and from subjects with idiopathic hirsutism. The results show that transformations and interconversions of androgens can take place in whole blood and of particular interest is the transformation of the less to the more biologically active androgens. The implications of these transformations and interconversions in the possible role of blood in the control of endocrine homoeostasis is discussed.