Experimental micropolycystic ovarian disease. I. Measurement of body weight, ovarian weight and histochemical activity of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.

The effects of administration of 1.25 mg testosterone propionate between the 2nd and 5th day of life on body weight, ovarian weight, food and water consumption, and the histochemical activity of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17 beta-HSD) were studied in female Wistar rats during the evolution of experimental micropolycystic ovaries. Biometric studies showed a 9.9 day delay of vaginal opening for the treated animals and that the increased body weight of the animals during the disease was not related to food intake and thus presumably due to the induced metabolic disorder. Reduced histochemical activity of the 17 beta-HSD of testosterone-treated rats was detected at ages 30, 60 and 90 days before the onset of morphological alterations of the ovaries. The possible participation of 17 beta-HSD in the disequilibrium between androstenedione and testosterone and in the genesis of the disease is discussed.