Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Oestrogen content of the embryonic rabbit ovary

Abstract

ALTHOUGH the essential role of endocrine function of the fetal testis for male phenotypic development is established1–3, endocrine function of the fetal ovary is not thought to be essential for development of the female phenotype1. Furthermore, it has been generally assumed that the fetal ovary has little capacity for oestrogen synthesis until late in embryonic life4–9. However, we recently reported that the capacity of the embryonic ovary of rabbit and human to synthesise oestrogen from radioactive androgen develops at about the same time as the onset of the capacity for testosterone synthesis in the fetal testes of the same species and before the histological differentiation of the ovary10,11. To determine if this enzymatic capacity to synthesise oestrogens is actually indicative of oestrogen formation in the intact tissue, we have measured and report here the content of 17β-oestradiol and testosterone in embryonic gonads of the fetal rabbit at varying stages of development. The results indicate that the onset of formation of the characteristic steroid hormones takes place simultaneously in ovary and testis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jost, A. Johns Hopkins med. J. 130, 38–53 (1972).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Wilson, J. D. A. Rev. Physiol. 40, 249–273 (1978).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Wilson, J. D. & Goldstein, J. L. Birth Defects 4, 1–16 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bloch, E. Endocrinology 74, 833–845 (1964).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Roberts, J. D. & Warner, J. C. Endocrinology 74, 846–852 (1964).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Resko, J. A. Endocrinology 87, 680–687 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Jungmann, R. A. & Schweppe, J. S. J. clin. Endocr. Metab. 28, 1599–1604 (1968).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Payne, A. H. & Jaffe, R. B. J. clin. Endocr. 39, 300–304 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Schindler, A. E. & Friedrich, E. Endokrinologie 65, 72–79 (1975).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Milewich, L., George, F. W. & Wilson, J. D. Endocrinology 100, 187–196 (1977).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. George, F. W. & Wilson, J. D. J. clin. Endocr. Metab. (in the press).

  12. Catt, K. J., Dufau, M. L., Neaves, W. B., Walsh, P. C. & Wilson, J. D. Endocrinology 97, 1157–1165 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Bradbury, J. T. Endocrinology 68, 115–120 (1961).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Boyar, R. M. et al. J. clin. Invest. 54, 609–618 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L. & Randall, R. J. J. biol. Chem. 193, 265–275 (1951).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

GEORGE, F., MILEWICH, L. & WILSON, J. Oestrogen content of the embryonic rabbit ovary. Nature 274, 172–173 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/274172a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/274172a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing