THE INFLUENCE OF THE LIVER UPON ESTROGENPROTEIN BINDING IN VITRO1

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Abstract
THE liver has long been regarded as the major site of inactivation of the estrogens and other steroid hormones (cf., Pincus and Pearlman, 1943; Pearlman, 1948). Recent evidence has, however, suggested that this organ may perform a dual role in estrogen metabolism, functioning both in the “activation” and inactivation of these compounds (Roberts and Szego, 1947). The mechanism of this activation may involve the elaboration by hepatic tissue of the circulating estrogen-protein complex, estroprotein (Roberts and Szego, 1946; Szego and Roberts, 1946). Investigations of the capacity of surviving liver and other tissues to promote the binding of estrogen to the serum proteins have been made possible by the availability of estrone-16 C14 of high specific activity (cf., Heard et al., 1951). The low order of magnitude of the substrate concentration in the present experiments is in sharp contrast to that employed by previous investigators, and may be considered a closer approximation to the physiological levels likely to be encountered in vivo.

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