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Studies on the 17[beta]-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of human erythrocytes
Dissertation

Studies on the 17[beta]-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of human erythrocytes

Richard Barry Hochberg
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital of Philadelphia
Mar 1967
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00009428
pdf
Hochberg_Richard_19676.32 MB
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Abstract

[From introduction] This thesis is a study of an enzyme involved in the peripheral metabolism of steroid hormones. The enzyme is a 17-[beta]-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase located in erythrocytes. Although the enzyme has been found in many species, this thesis deals specifically with the enzyme of the human erythrocyte. Since the metabolism of steroids differs from species to species, and because blood is one of the few sources of human enzymes readily available, it was felt that the study of the human enzyme would be of the greater interest. Of the fifteen species previously investigated for this enzyme the rat had the highest activity and man the lowest, less than one percent of the rat. The remaining species studied had enzymatic activity comparable to the human, although man did have the lowest activity. This low level of activity does not necessarily mean that the enzyme is of little physiological importance. For the very nature of hormones is that they are present in minute quantities. Consequently, the conversion of microgram amounts of steroid is of physiological interest. The low level of enzymes found in the red blood cells is offset by the large volume of blood and the low concentration of steroids present, in the order of a few micrograms per 100 ml at the most.

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