Metabolism of testosterone 4-14C in skin of castrated rats.

Testosterone metabolism was studied in the skin and preputial glands of normal and prepuberally castrated male rats during the 2nd hair cycle. In catagen-telogen the 17-beta-OHSDH of dorsal skin was higher in castrated than in control animals; 5-alpha-reductase instead, remained unchanged through out the hair cycle. Also in the preputial glands of castrated rats 17-beta-OHSDH was higher than in normal rats. So was 5-alpha-reductase. A possible direct control of a substrate, like Testosterone, and/or of a hypophyseal tropin, like prolactin, on enzymes that direct the metabolism of steroids in target tissues is conceivable.