THE DISTRIBUTION OF [1,2-3H]TESTOSTERONE IN THE TISSUES OF FEMALE RATS

Abstract

SUMMARY (1) The incorporation of [1,2-3H]testosterone in vivo into various tissues of virgin, pregnant, post-partum and tumour-bearing female rats was studied. (2) In virgin female rats the clearance of radioactivity from mesenteric fat, mammary gland, uterus, spleen, lung and blood was similar. This similarity in the rates of clearance of radioactivity for all the tissues examined was also found for the tissues of pregnant, post-partum, and tumour-bearing rats. (3) After the administration of [1,2-3H]testosterone different amounts of radioactivity were found in each of the tissues examined. In virgin rats the levels of incorporation were fat > uterus ≥ mammary gland > lung > blood ≥ spleen. This pattern was also obtained in post-partum and tumour-bearing animals; the tumours in the latter behaved in a similar way to normal mammary glands. In the pregnant rat, the foetus incorporated the least amount of radioactivity.