EFFECTIVENESS OF SEVERAL ANDROGENS IN STIMULATING KIDNEY HYPERTROPHY,A SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTER, IN CASTRATED MALE 3-SPINED STICKLEBACKS, GASTEROSTEUS-ACULEATUS

The effectiveness of different androgens in stimulating hypertrophy of the kidney tubules, a male secondary sexual character, was studied by injecting castrated male sticklebacks with androgens at doses of 0.00 8-25 mu g.g body weight(-1) day(-1) (or control injections were given) for 3 weeks. The doses (mu g/g) needed to give 50% stimulation of the kidney epithelium height were as follows: 11-ketotestosterone (OT), 0 .047; 11 beta-hydroxyandrostenedione, 0.070; 11-ketoandrostenedione, 0 .11; 5 alpha-androstane-3,11,17-trione, 1.1; 5 alpha-dihydrotestostero ne, 1.8; 17 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstane-3,11-dione, 3.0; and testo sterone, 15.2. Androstenedione and 5 beta-androstane-3,11,17-trione di d not reach half-effectiveness at the dose tested (5 mu g/g). It is su ggested that OT is the physiologically relevant androgen in this case.