FREE DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE AND TESTOSTERONE IN HUMAN AMNIOTIC-FLUID AND PREDICTION OF GONADAL SEX

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 14  (1) , 59-66
Abstract
To correlate the gonadal production of male sex hormones with overall steroidogenic activity of the fetus, unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone [T] were measured in amniotic fluids from midpregnancies with male and female fetuses by highly specific radioimmunoassay. The antiserum was raised in rabbits with 3.beta.-hydroxy-17-oxo-5-androsten-19-al 19-carboxymethyloxime BSA [bovine serum albumin] as immunogen and its cross reactions with several steroids were checked. Significantly higher T level was found in amniotic fluid from male fetuses (average concentration 249 .+-. 109 pg/ml from males as compared with 70 .+-. 38 pg/ml from females), whereas the difference in DHEA concentration was insignificant (184 .+-. 96 pg/ml for males vs. 177 .+-. 92 pg/ml for females). The positive correlation between T and DHEA concentrations (r [correlation coefficient] = 0.53) was found only in amniotic fluids from pregnancies bearing male fetuses, indicating that in males more DHEA may originate from fetal gonads.

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