A histochemical study of the effects of 19-nortestosterone on the RNA in the secretory tubules of the submandibular glands of castrated-adrenalectomized mice

Abstract

The effects of 19-nortestosterone (NT) and two androgens, testosterone propionate (TP) and 4-androstene-3,17-dione (AD), were studied by comparison between the submandibular gland (SMG) weight and that of other androgen-sensitive organs, measurement of the secretory tubule size of the SMG, and the histochemical comparison of RNA content in the tubule cell. The decreases in SMG weight following both castration and adrenalectomy were reversed by administration of the steroids. The decreasing order of their potency was as follows: TP > NT > AD. This result was similar to the levator ani muscle weight gain rather than prostrate weight gain indicating that the sensitivities of SMG to these steroids differed from accessory genital organs. The order of the potency of three steroids on the secretory tubule size accorded with the order on the SMG weight changes. RNA was present in a small amount in the secretory tubule cell in untreated mice and absent in castrated-adrenalectomized mice. Marked increases of RNA followed administration of NT and TP to castrated-adrenalectomized mice, but the effect of AD was weak, suggesting that, although protein synthesis is weak under normal conditions in the tubule cell, marked protein synthesis occurs when testosterone or protein anabolic steroids are administered to the mouse in which androgen synthesis has been interrupted. The effects of the steroids on the tubule cell size are closely related with RNA in the cell.