Diminished 5α reductase activity in extracts of fibroblasts cultured from patients with familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism, type 2

R. J. Moore, Jim Griffin III, J. D. Wilson

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85 Scopus citations

Abstract

The activity of 5α reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, has been assessed in cell free extracts of fibroblasts grown from foreskin, labia majora, scrotum, and nongenital skin from control subjects, from patients with developmental defects of the urogenital system, from two subjects with the type 2 form of familial incomplete male pseudohermaphroditism and from individuals with other forms of hereditary male pseudohermaphroditism. Enzyme activity was shown to be maximal in the pH range of 5 to 6. Substrate specificity studies indicated that the enzyme so assayed is the 5α reductase previously characterized in human foreskin. The activity of the enzyme was low in normal fibroblasts grown from nongenital skin and high in most fibroblasts grown from genital skin. 5α Reductase activity in extracts of foreskin fibroblasts from two subjects with the type 2 disorder was undetectable at pH 5.5. Activity in comparable fibroblast extracts from most patients with other forms of hereditary male pseudohermaphroditism was easily measurable.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)7168-7172
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume250
Issue number18
StatePublished - 1975

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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