Effects of Hypophysectomy on Steroid-C 14 Metabolism in the Rat. ∗

Summary

Tissue cholesterol concentrations, sterol-C¹⁴ elimination rates, and fecal steroid-C¹⁴ time-patterns were determined in intact and hypophysectomized rats. Tissue cholesterol was slightly elevated in the hypophysectomized animals. The rate of tissue sterol-C¹⁴ elimination was greatly reduced in hypophysectomized rats. Hypophysectomized rats excreted fecal steroid-C¹⁴ at one-half the rate of normal animals, with the greater reduction in the bile-acid-C¹⁴ fraction. The incorporation of mevalonic acid-2-C¹⁴ into tissue cholesterol at the end of one hour was about the same in both groups.