Human ovarian 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase activity: a comparison of normal and polycystic ovarian tissues.

Ovarian tissue and ovarian venous blood were obtained from women undergoing wedge resection, and ovarian tissue was obtained from normally menstruating women who had an oophorectomy for medical reasons. A morphological evaluation was made of the wedged tissue. 17 beta-Hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase levels were determined as the 17-ketoreductase (17-KR) and 17 beta-dehydrogenase activities in both normal and wedged tissue. Plasma androstenedione (A) and testosterone (T) levels were measured in the ovarian venous blood. Low, but measurable, 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase activity was found in the mitochondria, microsomes, and cytosol. With whole, cell-free homogenates, mean 17-KR activity was not significantly different in normal tissues and polycystic tissues; mean 17-KR activity of corpora lutea was significantly greater than that of the other tissues. Mean 17 beta-dehydrogenase activity was not significantly different from 17-KR activity in the tissues studied. Ovarian venous A levels were higher than the reported mean ovarian venous A levels of normal women with only one exception; approximately half of the ovarian venous T levels were higher than reported mean ovarian venous T levels of normal women. The morphology of the wedge sections did not correlate well with the biochemical data.