Abstract
The metabolism of pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone and their sulfate conjugates was studied in minced human and boar testis tissue in vitro. Unlabelled steroids were usually used as substrates and the steroid metabolites were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (g.l.c.) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (g.c.-m.s.). Both the unconjugated and sulfated steroids were metabolized to testosterone. Human and boar testis tissue had a very high capacity to synthesize testosterone from dehydroepiandrosterone, even from 1 mg of the substrate boar testis tissue (0.5 g) could metabolize over 500 μg to 5-androstene-3β, 17β-diol, androstenedionc and testosterone. Testosterone synthesis from dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate but not from pregnenolone sulfate seemed to be mainly dependent on the steroid sulfatase activity in the testis. Human and boar testes also synthesized steroid sulfates, and a direct conversion of one steroid sulfate to another took place in both tissues. In boar testis 16-androstenes were formed both from pregnenolone and pregnenolone sulfate. The conclusion is that active metabolism of sulfated steroids occurs in human and boar testes. The sulfated steroids, which are known to be quantitatively important in the testes of the two species studied, are also used as precursors of testosterone in vitro.
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