Abstract
THE recent attention given to the use of sex hormones for contraception has stimulated biochemical and physiological investigations of the mechanism of this effect. Experiments by Jensen et al.1 and Stone2 have established that the vagina and ovaries (target tissues) are especially sensitive to these hormones. On the other hand, studies of Fiegelson3 and of Turkington and Hill4 with liver histidase and mammary gland lactase synthetase respectively, have indicated that sex hormones affect the activity of enzymes beyond the target tissue. Further evidence suggests that amylase and the secretion from the pancreas are influenced by dietary factors8 which in turn may be partially affected by steroid sex hormones. Whether the steroid hormones play a role in the control mechanisms of target as well as other tissues, by changing enzyme activity, is not known. We have investigated the effect of testosterone, 17-β-oestradiol and progesterone (Sigma) on pancreatic and serum amylase activity in vitro. Cholesterol (Merck) with no known sex hormone activity was used as control.
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KHAYAMBASHI, H., BOROUMAND, M., BOROUMAND, A. et al. In vitro Inhibition of Bovine Serum and Pancreatic Amylase by Progesterone. Nature 230, 529–531 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/230529a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/230529a0
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