ANDROGEN RECEPTOR LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH ISOLATED HYPOSPADIAS

The binding of [3H]dihydrotestosterone (17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one) to the androgen receptor was studied in 26 prepubertal boys with isolated hypospadias (no associated anomaly) using fibroblasts cultured from surgical specimens of hypospadiac penile skin and/or chordal tissue. Maximal binding capacities of androgen receptor for [3H] dihydrotestosterone in 10 patients with mild degree (2 glandular + 8 penile), 6 with severe degree (4 penoscrotal + 2 scrotal), chordal tissues of hypospadias (N = 10), and controls (10 endocrinologically normal boys) were, respectively, 11750 ± 2410, 10720 ± 2680, 16100 ± 7570, and 11570 ± 3830 (mean ± SD) sites per cell. Dissociation constants in these subjects were 1.09 ± 0.29, 0.93 ± 0.22, 1.20 ± 0.31, and 1.22 ± 0.41 x 10-10 mol/l respectively. There were no significant differences as to both maximal binding capacity and dissociation constant of androgen receptor among any groups. Abnormal receptor thermolability was not found in 5 patients with severe degree of hypospadias either. It is, therefore, concluded that prepubertal boys with isolated hypospadias have primarily normal androgen receptor activity.