Preputial gland growth and protein synthesis in the androgen-insensitive male pseudohermaphroditic rat.

Abstract

The androgen-dependent growth of the preputial gland was studied in normal (Nl) male and female rats as well as in the androgen-insensitive Stanley-Gumbreck male pseudohermaphroditic (Ps) rat. Preputial gland weight was 3 times higher in the Nl males than Nl females or Ps rats. Castration of Nl males reduced preputial gland weight to that of females. Administration of testosterone enanthate, 6 mg daily for 10 days, to intact Nl female and castrated Nl males produced 4-fold increases in preputial gland weight, total soluble protein and total RNA; a doubling of total DNA; and a 9-fold increase in β-glucuronidase activity. By contrast, this dose of testosterone enanthate had little effect on the preputial gland of Ps rats, but when treatment was increased 100-fold (60 mg daily) several indexes of preputial gland growth were stimulated, indicating that the genetically determined androgen insensitivity is relative rather than absolute. Since the androgen-dependent control of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis were...