Effect of Medroxyprogesterone Acetate on 3α-Hydroxysteroid Oxidoreductase of Testicular Germ Cells and Prostate of the Rat1

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Abstract
On incubation with testosterone (T), nonflagellate germ cells of rat testis produced dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5α-androstane-3α, 17β-diol (3α-diol). When the concentration of T was adjusted to 0.1 µM (its level in rete testis fluid), 4-androstene-3, 17-dione (A) and DHT accumulated during the first 30 min; during the subsequent 90 min, A declined and 3α-diol accumulated, DHT remaining at almost constant level. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA, 5 µM) abolished 3α-diol production, but allowed DHT to accumulate at linear rates. Separation of nonflagellate germ cells by velocity gradient sedimentation yielded spermatocytes and spermatids as major fractions. On incubation with 0.1 µM T, the spermatocytes produced A and DHT; the spermatids, although metabolizing T at lower rates, produced relatively large amounts of 3α-diol. In the presence of T in physiological concentration, MPA did not inhibit 5α-reductase or 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase of germ cells. It abolished 3α-diol formation in the spermatids, allowing DHT to accumulate in equivalent amounts. The action of MPA as a specific inhibitor of 3α-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase without effect on 5α-reductase was also observed in rat prostate extracts when these were incubated with 0.1 µM T.

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