Comparison of some blood parameters of captured and farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds.

In studies on the adaptation of red deer (Cervus elaphus) to farm conditions, some blood parameters of 3- to 9-year-old captured and farmed hinds were compared. The test variable included blood plasma creatine kinase (CK), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, the concentrations of glucose, urea, total protein (TP), serum cortisol, haemoglobin (Hb), and the blastogenic transformation of lymphocytes upon stimulation by the nonspecific mitogens Phaseolus vulgaris (PHA) and Concanavalin A (ConA) in the lymphocyte stimulation test (LST). The effects exerted by probiotic preparation (Ascogen) on the same parameters were studied in farmed deer. In hinds that had been kept under farm conditions for 10 months, CK activity was lower (P < 0.05) and blood urea concentration higher (P < 0.001) than at the time of capture, while their blood glucose concentration exceeded (P < 0.01) that of farmed hinds. Hinds treated with Ascogen had lower ALT activity (P < 0.001) and showed a higher increase in PHA-induced blastogenic transformation of lymphocytes than the control hinds.

[Determination of urinary estrogen in glycosuria]. / Bestimmung des Ostrogengehalts im Urin bei Glukosurie.

The total urinary estrogen values of women with glucosuria were studied by 5 different methods in 287 samples. The spectrophotometry values obtained by Ittrich's reaction have been influenced by urinary glucose concentrations. An increased glucose content appeared to be connected with a decrease of the hormone values if the hydrolysis of conjugates was performed by mineral acids. The most effective method was enzymatic hydrolysis used also for the determination of the acid labile fractions. The determination of total estrogen excretion is necessary for evaluating intrauterine fetal well-being in diabetic mothers.

Relationship between serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and urinary 17-ketosteroid values.

To assess the validity of serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DS) radioimmunoassay instead of urinary total 17-ketosteroid (17-KS) or individual metabolite (dehydroepiandrosterone + etiocholanolone + androsterone; D + E + A) determination to control adrenal androgen function, a comparative study has been performed. Mathematical analysis of simultaneous estimates revealed significant correlation when normal or above normal 17-KS or D + E + A excretion relative to serum DS were considered. Poor correlation was observed when below normal metabolite excretion and serum DS were related. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between estimates of 17-KS (or D + E + A) and those of serum unconjugated D also determined by radioimmunoassay. The serum DS radioimmunoassay appeared to be a reliable tool to assess adrenal androgen function, at least in patients exhibiting normal or high 17-ketosteroid values.

Gas chromatographic determination of unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, pregnenolone and progesterone in human ovarian tissue.

A gas chromatographic method has been presented for the determination of unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, pregnenolone and progesterone in human ovarian tissue. The procedure utilized radioactive tracers added to homogenate for correcting methodological loss, preliminary separation of steroids by thinlayer chromatography, acetylation, rechromatography on chromatoplate and gas chromatography on 3% SE-30 or 1% XE-60 columns with flame ionisation detection of steroids by using internal standards. Results of control experiments and representative clinical findings on normal and polycystic ovaries are reported.

Concentration of unconjugated adrenogenic hormones and their precursors in normal and polycystic ovaries.

Dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, pregnenolone and progesterone concentration was determined by our sensitive gas-liquid chromatographic method in ovarian tissues obtained from surgery of patients without hirsutism and with Stein-Leventhal syndrome. The steroids, except testosterone, were detectable in all ovaries studied. Dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenedione, regarded as preandrogens, were present in an increased amount in almost all patients with polycycstic ovaries. Gas chromatographic evidence was obtained for the presence of testosterone in two of the cases. The delta4/3betaOH ratio reflecting 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity was decreased only in same patients with the Stein-Leventhal syndrome suggesting that the impaired function of this enzyme is not an obligatory feature of polycystic ovaries. Concentration of pregnenolone and progesterone measured in a part of cases varied in a great range although the determination was caried out before luteal phase. Simultaneous determination of hormones in both ovarian tissues revealed an active and an inactive period of the gland in the given time, since a great difference of hormone concentration in bilateral ovarian tissues were observed. A comparison of hormone content in ovaries and the urinary excretion of metabolites showed poor correlation between the two parameters of hormone production.

Isolation and quantitative determination of sex hormones in carps (Cyprinus carpio L.).

Changes in the oestrogen and progesterone level in the blood and ovarian tissue of mature carps from fish farms were examined using gas chromatographic method, before and after spawning as well as under wintering. Due to the high individual variation the observations cannot be regarded as quantitative. The highest oestrogen level was found before spawning, both in the ovaries and the blood, this level was somewhat lower after spawning and did not show any further change under wintering. The resting progesterone level had a low value, both in the ovaries and the blood, but it increased after spawning. The oestrogen concentration of blood was somewhat higher in the latter. Effect of pituitary extracts on changes of the sex hormone concentration in blood and ovary of wild carps was investigated too. The results of the hormone determinations, changes in body weights and "coefficients of maturity" are presented.

Steroid hormone (hydrocortisone, oestradiol and testosterone) uptake, storage or induced synthesis in tetrahymena.

After cyclodextrin-coated 10(-6) m steroid hormone treatment for 3 days (hormonal imprinting), Tetrahymena cells and their media were analysed by radioimmunoassay for the same hormone and for the presence of the other two. In the absence of hormone treatment, the cells contained no detectable levels of the three steroids. By 2 days in fresh medium following exposure of cells to a 72 h pretreatment of each specific hormone, correspondingly high quantities of hydrocortisone and oestradiol, but lesser quantities of testosterone, were found in both the media and the cells. One week after treatment only traces of hydrocortisone were found, exclusively within the cells themselves. Oestradiol was present in measurable quantities in both cells and media, whereas testosterone was only present in the medium. The presence of the other two hormones to the one used in the pretreatment were not usually present, except that when testosterone had been given, some oestradiol was also detected at 48 h, suggesting Tetrahymena has a functional cytochrome P(450)aromatase.

Metabolism of a prednisolone compound in human under normal and pathological conditions.

A method has been presented for the quantitative determination of 21-deoxy-N-(N'-methyl-piperazinyl)-prednisolone (Depersolone), a water soluble corticosteroid, and one of its metabolites, prednisolone, in human urine. Following administration of 30 or 90 mg Depersolone i.v., the dynamic appearance of this hormone and the prednisolone metabolite, their biological half-lives and the effect of the synthetic corticosteroid on the excretion of grouped and individual 17-ketosteroids were determined. Results of experiments revealed a dose dependent excretion of the unchanged hormone and a biological half-life 12 to 23 h in control subjects. Prednisolone as a metabolite seems to play a minor role in Depersolone action. The excretion rate of Depersolone was greater and its half-life less than normal in hepatopathies. The dynamic appearance of the hormone was found slow in the urine of patients with prolonged corticosteroid therapy.

Free and solvolysable dehydroepiandrosterone and androsterone in blood of mammals under physiological conditions and following administration of dehydroepiandrosterone.

A gas chromatographic method has been empolyed for the determination of dehydroepiandrosterone (D), androsterone (A), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DS) and androsterone sulphate (AS) in the peripheral blood of human subjects and in various mammals under physiological conditions and after the administration of D or DS. Unconjugated D has been isolated and the resting level determined in the rat, rabbit, dog , sheep, pig and cow, while DS was detectable in the peripheral circulation of the rat, dog and pig. Unconjugated A was present in blood of the rodents and domestic ungulates studied, while the parent sulphate could be demonstrated only in rat, dog, pig and cow. The plasma of lower mammals contained D in higher (0.8-10.9 microng/100 ml) and DS, if any, in lower level (1.5-5.7 microng/100 ml) than the human plasma samples (0.1-2.7 and 86-308 microng/100 ml, respectively). There was a more pronounced increase in D and A than in the DS and AS level in the rat and dog following administration of D. On the contrary, exogenous D hardly affected unconjugated D and appreciably enhanced the DS level in human plasma. The conclusion drawn for human subjects, that D is the metabolically active and DS the reserve hormone, does not seem to be valid for all the animals here studied.