Effects of sex steroids on human skin in organ culture.

Histometric and autoradiographic methods were applied to investigate the actions of sex hormones on the cultured epidermis of post-menopausal women. Both testosterone and progesterone at the concentration of 10(-9)-10(-7) mol/l enhanced the keratinization of the epidermal cells during the 7-day culture. The numbers of the granular cells were increased by both of these hormones and the transit time of the epidermal cells was shortened by progesterone. Progesterone (but not testosterone) influenced cell proliferation, too, as indicated by an increased labelling of the epidermal cells with [3H]thymidine. In a contrast to other sex steroids, 17-beta-estradiol (10(-7) and 10(-9) mol/l) appeared to be ineffective in short-term organ culture.