EARLY EFFECTS OF ANDROGENS ON BIOSYNTHESIS OF PROTEIN AND RNA BY POSTMITOCHONDRIAL FRACTION OF MOUSE KIDNEY

Castration did not produce a decrease in the rate of incorporation of amino acids in vitro by the cytoplasmic fraction of the adult mouse kidney until after two to four days. Androgens stimulated the earliest detectable increase in the rate of incorporation of the amino acids after 24 hours. Attempts to detect an earlier effect by frequent repeated injections; different doses of testosterone, testosterone propionate and androstane-Jα, 17β-diol; different routes of administration - subcutaneous and intraperitioneal; the use of oil and aqueous solutions and subcutaneously implanted pellets of the androgens; use of young and adult mice, and androgen administration immediately after castration and after longer periods were unsuccessful. The minimum effective dose for the earliest response was 25 μg of testosterone propionate. A proportional response with dose of testosterone propionate was obtained. The concentration of RNA changed in parallel with the changes in amino acid incorporation as did the weight of the kidney and other target tissues-seminal vesicles, prostate and thymus. © 1968.