Objective: To evaluate the level of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17 beta-HSD) type 1, 2, and 3 transcripts in a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor, adjacent theca lutein ovarian tissue, and normal central ovarian stromal tissue. Setting: An academic medical center. Design: Total RNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue slides and used for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers specific for 17 beta-HSD types 1, 2, or 3. The PCR products were subjected to Southern hybridization with 5' [P-32] end-labeled internal primers for each type of the isozymes. Patient(s): A 35-year-old woman with a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor on her right ovary. The tumor and the right ovary were surgically removed. Control ovarian stromal tissue was obtained from a woman undergoing hysterectomy for uterine leiomyomata. Result(s): In the control ovarian stromal tissue, the transcripts for the type 1 and type 2 isoforms were the predominant transcripts detected. In the Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor, the transcript for the type 3 isoform was the predominant transcript detected. Ovarian tissue from the same ovary as the Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor (diagnosed as theca lutein cysts an histologic examination) expressed the type 2 and 3 transcripts. Conclusion(s): The 17 beta-HSD type 3 isoform efficiently converts androstenedione to T and is the predominant HSD isoform in the testis. In hyperandrogenism caused by a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor, both the tumor tissue and nontumor tissue from the same ovary expressed the ''testicular'' form of the 17 beta-HSD. (C) 1997 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
