STUDIES CONCERNING THE LUTEOID ACTION OF STEROID HORMONES

¹ From the Department of Anatomy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Forty-five steroid compounds have been assayed for their luteoid activity in immature rabbits sensitized with estradiol. The following compounds were found to possess decreasing degrees of luteoid activity in the order in which they are mentioned here: progesterone, ethinyl-testosterone, desoxycorticosterone acetate, vinyl-testosterone, ethyl-progesterone, methyl-testosterone, testosterone propionate, ⁵-pregnenolone, androstanol, androstenedione, testosterone, androstanedione, 16-dehydroprogesterone, ⁵-androstene-3(), 17()-diol, acetoxy pregnenolone. All other compounds examined were devoid of activity in the doses tested.

These results are discussed in connection with the possible correlations existing between the luteoid and other pharmacological actions of steroids as well as between the chemical structure of the compounds and their ability to produce progestational proliferation.