title: Role of testosterone and its metabolites in the differentiation of the mammary gland in rats.
abstract: The capacity of various androgens to virilize the differentiating mammary gland in the female rat fetus has been determined. Testosterone, 5alpha-androstane-3alpha, 17beta-diol (3alpha-diol), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) virilize the anlagen of the mammary gland by suppressing nipple formation but 5alpha-androstane-3beta, 17beta-diol, androsterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate do not affect female mammary differentiation. However, unlike the genitalia and wolffian ducts of the female rat fetus in which the masculinizing potency of DHT and 3alpha-diol is greater than that of testosterone, testosterone is more potent than its metabolites DHT and 3alpha-diol, in virilizing the mammary gland. The results suggest that testosterone is the fetal androgen mediating masculine development of the mammary gland.
mesh_terms: D000728:Androgens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015113:Androstane-3,17-diol / Q000494:pharmacology; D000738:Androsterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone; D015113:Androstane-3,17-diol; D013739:Testosterone; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D000738:Androsterone