A COMPARISON OF THE ACTION OF HUMAN AND RAT LIVER SLICES ON SEVERAL CORTICOSTEROIDS1

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Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated the great capacity of the rat liver to metabolize adrenal cortical steroids, and, in so doing, to decrease their biological activity (Miller and Axelrod, 1954; Bacchus, 1953; Hechter et al., 1953; Louchart and Jailer, 1952; Paschkis et ah, 1951; Schneider and Horstmann, 1951, 1952). There is, however, little information concerning the hepatic metabolism of aldosterone, or the in vitro metabolism of adrenal cortical steroids by human liver (Gordon, 1954). Consequently, it was decided to compare the hepatic metabolism of aldosterone with other adrenal cortical steroids by incubating them with rat and human liver slices, and to conduct these experiments at steroid levels which were closer to the physiological range than those previously used. Finally, in selected cases, an attempt was made to correlate the reduction of Ring A with loss of biological activity following incubation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Corticosterone, desoxycorticosterone, and hydrocortisone were incubated with liver slices in amounts of 19 mμM.