Statistical analysis of effects of testosterone on purine metabolism in rat liver.

Previously, we have demonstrated that the liver is a target organ of testosterone, and that the gonads are not the only organ in which purine nucleotide metabolism is regulated by androgens [1]. Under normal conditions and after castration, testosterone presumably has several effects on the metabolism and functions of the liver; such effects must be studied in depth and still demand attention. For instance, liver of both sexes responds to sex steroid hormones, but the hepatic enzymes can be classified in different categories according to their response towards neonatal androgenic influence. After postpubertal castration, the enzyme activities can be differently restimulated by administration of testosterone propionate. No significant differences in physicochemical properties have been noted between hepatic steroid receptors and those from classical tissues, and after orchiectomy, any decrease in number of receptors per cell has been revealed [2] [3] [4] [5].