Abstract
TRITIUM-labelled steroids have been widely used as tracers in the investigation of steroid metabolism, due to their high specific activity, low cost and low radiation dosage in vivo. The validity of any experiment using labelled steroids depends on the fact that the labelled and the endogenous materials are metabolised in a similar manner. In the case of the in vivo metabolism of the 1,2-3H-labelled and endogenous cortisol in man, proof of this is lacking. The experiments of Cope and Pearson1, and of Gold and Crigler2 using mixtures of 1,2-3H-cortisol and 4-14C-cortisol suggested that these two different species of labelled cortisol were metabolised in a similar manner, and from this it was inferred that they could both be used as valid tracers for studying cortisol metabolism.
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References
Cope, C. L., and Pearson, J., J. clin. Path., 18, 82–87 (1965).
Gold, N. I., and Crigler, J. F., J. clin. Endocr. Metab., 66, 133–142 (1966).
Asmal, A. C., Butterfield, W. J. H., Collins, K. J., and Few, J. D., Clin. Sci. molec. Med. (in the press).
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FEW, J., COLLINS, K. ‘Isotope effect’ in metabolism of radioactive cortisol in man. Nature 251, 324 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/251324a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/251324a0
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