Abstract
Testosterone administration to castrated rats did not influence the total content and the composition of free amino acids in the blood plasma. No significant difference in the total content and the composition of free amino acids in the ventral prostate was observed between castrated and testosterone-treated castrated animals either.
Pro and Glu in free amino acid fraction and in tissue proteins were labeled after L-arginine-14C administration. Radioactivities in Pro and Glu of free amino acids and protein fractions from testosterone-treated castrated rats were higher than those from castrated rats. The tissue/plasma ratio of radioactivity and concentration of Pro and Glu in free amino acids fraction were high in ventral prostate, therefore, it was considered that some part of Pro and Glu was formed from Arg inside the tissue. Conversion rate of Arg to Pro and Glu was calculated, and it was found that the rate of Pro and Glu formation was increased 24hr after testosterone administration to castrated animals.
No influence of testosterone administration was observed on the utilization of guanido-14C after cleavage of arginine in rat ventral prostate.
