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Biomedical subjects

J D Wilson

Publications and source records attributed to J D Wilson.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources

Diminished 5alpha-reductase activity in extracts of fibroblasts cultured from patients with familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism, type 2.

The activity of 5alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, has been assessed in cell-free extracts of fibroblasts grown from foreskin, labia majora, scrotum, and nongenital skin from control subjects, from patients with developmental defects of the urogenital system, drom two subjects with the type 2 form of familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism and from individuals with other forms of hereditary male pseudohermaphoditism. Enzyme activity was shown to be maximal in the pH range of 5 to 6. Substrate specificity studies indicated that the enzyme so assayed is the 5alpha-reductase previously characterized in human foreskin. The activity of the enzyme was low in normal fibroblasts grown from nongenital skin and high in most fibroblasts grown from genital skin. 5alpha-Reductase activity in extracts of foreskin fibroblasts from two subjects with the type 2 disorder was undetectable at pH 5.5. Activity in comparable fibroblast extracts from most patients with other forms of hereditary male pseudohermaphroditism was easily measurable.

3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase↗

Dihydrotestosterone formation in cultured human fibroblasts. Comparison of cells from normal subjects and patients with familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism, Type 2.

The conversion of [1,2-3H]testosterone to [3H]dihydrotestosterone has been assessed in fibroblast monolayers grown from skin biopsies of foreskin, scrotum, and various nongential skins from 31 control men who varied in age from newborn to 25 years and three 46,XY subjects with hereditary male pseudohermaphroditism. Under the standardized conditions utilized in this study, the rate of dihydrotestosterone formation was greater in fibroblasts grown from genital skin (foreskin and scrotum) passages exhibit the same differentiation in dihydrotestosterone formation as the skin from which the fibroblasts were grown. Furthermore, 5alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, exhibits apparent similar substrate specificity in control foreskin fibroblasts and in the foreskin itself. Fibroblasts grown from the foreskin of two patients with familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism, type 2, an autosomal recessive disorder of phenotypic sexual differentiation, showed a marked deficiency in the capacity to form dihydrotestosterone. In contrast, fibroblasts grown from the scrotum of one 46,XY male with familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism, type 1, an apparent X-linked disorder of phenotypic sexual differentiation, formed dihydrotestosterone at a normal rate.

Adolescent↗

Partial characterization of the cytosol 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid: NAD(P)+oxidoreductase of rat ventral prostate.

The cytosol 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of rat ventral prostate has been partially purified. The rates of both the oxidation and reduction by crude and partially purified enzymes have been measured with a variety of radioactive substrates, and the effects of several inhibitor steroids have been assessed. Four conclusions have been drawn from the study. First, no detectable 3beta-androstanediol was formed from dihydrotestosterone, and the oxidation of 3beta-androstanediol was undetectable. Second, the cytosol enzyme exhibits a distinct and unique substrate specificity in that steroids with keto or hydroxyl substitution on the 11th carbon of the steroid cannot serve as substrates or as inhibitors of the enzyme. Third, either 5alpha or 5 beta reduction of delta4,3-keto steroids must take place before the steroids can serve as substrates of the enzyme. Fourth, many delta4,3-keto steroids that cannot act as substrates for the enzyme inhibit the enzyme competitively and may well serve as physiological regulators of the reaction in intact cell.

Animals↗

Genetic and hormonal control of male sexual differentiation.

Phenotypic sexual differentiation during embryogenesis is a complex process involving the action of at least 18 genes. These genes regulate gonadal differentiation, gonadal hormone formation, and in the male the cellular action of three necessary hormones, namely mullerian regression factor, testosterone, and dihydrotestosterone. Analysis of two of the mutations affecting sexual development is consistent with the thesis that the two androgens testosterone and dihydrotestosterone have separate and specific roles in virilization of the male urogenital tract, testosterone stimulating wolffian duct development and dihydrotestosterone mediating development of the urogenital sinus and external genitalia. In the disorder familial incomplete male pseudohermphroditism, type 2, deficient dihydrotestosterone formation is associated with a selective failure of virilization of the urogenital sinus and external genitalia, whereas the wolffian duct derivatives develop normally. On the other hand, in the testicular feminization syndrome there is a complete failure in the development of the male phenotype, indicating that the primary defect involves an abnormality in some biochemical step that is common to the action of both androgens. Evidence from studies in the submandibular gland of the mouse with testicular feminization suggest that the fundamental defect lies in the translocation and/or nuclear binding of the cytoplasmic androgen receptor. It remains to be proven whether these events in the postnatal, sexually dimorphic submandibular gland of the testicular feminization mouse reflect prenatal events occurring in the urogenital tissues during embryogenesis.

Age Factors↗

Developmental study of androgen responsiveness in the submandibular gland of the mouse.

The development of androgen responsiveness in the submandibular gland of normal and androgen-resistant (Tfm) mice of different ages was studied after varying hormonal treatments. Total esteroproteolytic (tamase) activity of submandibular gland homogenates was used as a marker for androgen action. Newborn mice of all four genotypes (normal male, normal female, carrier Tfm females, and Tfm males) were resistant to androgen. However, at 3 weeks of age the capacity to develop a tamase response appears in normal and carrier Tfm animals given androgen and rapidly rise to maximal levels. The level in the normal animal is regulated thereafter primarly by the level of circulating androgen. In contrast, the tamase response in the Tfm male of all ages and under all androgen regimens was minimal.

Aging↗

LH-hCG receptors and testosterone content during differentiation of the testis in the rabbit embryo.

The development of gonadotropin receptors for LH and hCG in the fetal rabbit testis from 17-29 days of gestation was followed by quantitative binding studies with [125I]iodohCG and compared with gonadal testosterone content and the histological differentiation of the fetal Leydig cells. The concentrations of gonadotropin receptors and testosterone in the fetal testis were low on days 17 and 18 and increased strikingly on day 19. This time sequence for development of LH-hCG receptors and steroid content of the testis was correlated exactly with the histological appearance of the endoplasmic reticulum characteristic of the differentiated Leydig cell. When fetal testes were examined at 12-h intervals between days 17 and 19, gonadotropin binding and testosterone content were closely correlated at all times studied. Thus, no dissociation between the two functions was demonstrable in the testis at any time during gestation. In the fetal ovary, LH-hCG binding and testosterone content were low or undetectable at all stages of gestation. These observations demonstrate a close temporal relationship between the appearance of the LH-hCG receptor and the synthesis of testosterone by the fetal testis and demonstrate that the histological and functional differentiation of the Leydig cell occurs within a few hours at approximately day 18 of gestation. The simultaneous appearance of LH-hCG receptors and testosterone synthesis in the gonad can be regarded as the biochemical manifestations of Leydig cell differentiation in the testis of the fetal rabbit.

Aging↗

Aromatization of androstenedione by isolated human hairs.

The formation of (3-H) estrone has been demonstrated in human anagen scalp hair roots incubated with (1, 2, 6, 7-3H) androstenedione, and approximate rates of formation of 0.2 pmol of estrone/mg DNA/h were observed. Thus, hair is a potential site for the extraglandular formation of estrogen in man.

Adult↗

Clinical and endocrinologic characterization of a patients with the syndrome of incomplete testicular feminization.

A 46 XY individual with male pseudohermaphroditism was investigated. The phenotype was distinctive in that the habitus was female in character, but partial fusion of the labioscrotal folds, testes, and male wolffian duct structures that terminated in the vagina were present. Müllerian structures were absent. At the expected time of puberty both feminization (breast development) and virilization (clitoral enlargement) took place. Studies of estrogen and androgen dynamics revealed plasma testosterone levels and production rates characteristic of normal men. Plasma estrogen levels and production rates were greater than those of normal men. Plasma gonadotropin levels were also high. These findings suggest that the fundamental defect in this patient is androgen resistance rather than defective androgen synthesis. Dihydrotestosterone formation from testosterone slices of epididymis and perineal skin was normal. The family history was uninformative. On endocrinologic, genetic, and phenotypic grounds the syndrome of incomplete testicular feminization can be separated from the complete form of testicular feminization and from familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism, Type 2. Additional studies will be required to determine whether this disorder is also distinct from the Type 1 form of familial incomplete male pseudohermaphromditism.

Androstenedione↗

Radiation effects on pig skin. Exposure to different densities of ionization.

The effects on pig skin from radiations producing different densities of ionization have been determined. For the qualities of radiation employed, erythema was produced at a dose range from 1,240 to 3,440 rads and ulceration at 1,250 to 5,000 rads. In no instance did a radiation-induced neoplasm develop. In determining dose response, two of the most important physical parameters, associated with time of appearance and extent of lesions, were found to be the size of the area irradiated and the density of ionization of the radiations used. These data, on normal tissue tolerance, should be a value in future programs initiated in experimental radiation therapy of both animal and human neoplasia utilizing protons, alpha particles, and carbon ions.

Alpha Particles↗