5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone formation and its functional significance in rat anterior pituitary, subpopulations of gonadotrophs and cell cultures.

The present paper reviews the work in the author's laboratory on the conversion of testosterone to 5 alpha-reduced metabolities and its regulatory control in intact pituitary, in enzymatically dispersed pituitary cells and in enriched populations of gonadotrophs isolated by unit gravity sedimentation. The data show that 5 alpha-reductase is located mainly in gonadotrophs and the possible physiological significance is discussed. A new culture method, suitable to study the regulation of 5 alpha-reductase and its biological significance in vitro, is presented.