THE ACTION OF VARIOUS STEROID HORMONES ON THE TESTIS

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Abstract
Expts. in the rat and mouse indicate that small doses of testosterone propionate or testosterone cause a pronounced decrease in testis wt. while large doses have no such effect. Androgens and progesterone, especially when administered in large doses counteract the testis atrophy-producing effect of estrogens, non-specific damaging agents such as formaldehyde, etc. Small doses actually aggravate the atrophy produced by such means. In hypophysectomized rats, progesterone as well as andro-gens inhibits involution of the seminiferous epithelium but not of the Leydig cells. If the hormonal control of the human testis obeys the same laws that govern the development of the testis in rodents, there would be less danger of causing testis atrophy in eunuchoid patients if they were treated with large doses of androgens than if small doses were administered. Large doses may prove to stimulate not only the accessory genitalia but even the [male] gonad itself. The view is expressed that various steroids, especially the androgens and progesterone, exert a direct stimulating action on the seminiferous epithelium particularly when they are administered in large doses. In small doses, this action is not detectable since it is overcompensated by the testis atrophy which results from the ability of these steroids to inhibit the gonadotrophic hormone secretion of the pituitary.