Effect of cyanoketone, an inhibitor of delta-5-3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, on the reproductive tracts of male fetal rats, in organ culture.

Abstract

3-one), in 9 explants cultured with cyanoketone in the culture medium, and in 3 explants cultured with cyanoketone present only during the first 24 hr of culture. Morphological histologic studies were performed in 11 control explants and in 18 explants cultured in presence of cyanoketone. In two more, the cyanoketone was present only during the first 24 hr of the culture period. The activity of the enzyme was abolished in the testes of treated explants. NADH tetrazolium reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity were normal. Wolfflan ducts were maintained, both in control and cyanoketone-treated explants. The significance of these findings is discussed.