Androgen uptake in the female reproductive system of a nonhuman primate

The nuclear uptake and retention of 3H-dehydrotestosterone (3H-DHT) were studied in the reproductive organs of the female rhesus monkey by autoradiography. Ovariectomized and adrenalectomized adult female monkeys were injected with 1 microgram of 3H-DHT (107 Ci/mmole) and were exsanguinated 1 hour later. The uterus, cervix, vagina, and fimbriae of the fallopian tubes were removed and processed for autoradiography. Localization of the androgen was observed in the nuclei of fibroblasts, but not in the nuclei of smooth muscle and tissues of the blood vessels, of all four organs. The uptake of androgen by the epithelium varied for each organ. The simple columnar epithelium of the fallopian tube demonstrated nuclear labeling, but the epithelium of the uterus did not. The cells of the germinative layer of the stratified squamous epithelium of both the cervix and vagina exhibited nuclear concentration of label; however, the simple columnar epithelium of the cervix contiguous with the uterus was free of label. The results suggest that androgens may have a physiologic role in the female reproductive organs, and that the therapeutic effect of drugs such as danazol may be mediated via an androgen receptor.