Estrogen Production by Trophoblastic Tumors in Tissue Culture*

1 January 1972

journal article
other
Published by The Endocrine Society in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Vol. 34 (1) , 59-61
https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem-34-1-59

Abstract

Pure trophoblastic cells derived from human choriocarcinomas and established in culture (BeWo and Jar lines) were incubated with either androst-4-ene-3, 17-dione-1, 2³H(³H-Δ⁴) or dehydroepiandrosterone-7-³H (³H-DHEA). Radioactive estrogens were separated from neutral steroids and analyzed by reverse phase and direct phase partition chromatography on Celite columns. The identity of labeled estrogens was confirmed by isotope dilution and derivative formation. ³H-Δ⁴ was converted into labeled estrone (E₁) and 17β-estradiol (E₂), but no estriol was formed by these tumor cells when the incubated precursor lacked the 16α-OH grouping. The production of E₂ was several times greater than that of E₁. The tumor cells from the Jar line exceeded those of the BeWo line in their capacity to synthesize estrogens. It was concluded that potential steroidogenic pathways for estrogen synthesis similar to those of the normal placenta are retained in malignant trophoblastic tumor cells in culture.

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