Abstract

One 150-µg dose of testosterone stimulates a rise in prostatic NADH of castrate rats within 1 hr. This is followed by a decrease in NADH and an increase in NAD between 1 and 3 hr. Between 1 and 5 hr the sum of NAD + NADH is constant and is more than twice that seen in either the intact control or the castrate control. Between 5 and 10 hr after the injection the NAD + NADH decreases toward the intact control level. The NADPH concentration is about 4 times the castrate or intact control value 2-4 hr after injection. The ATP concentration decreases to a minimum value 1-2 hr after testosterone injection, then increases quickly between 2 and 3 hr, and more slowly between 3 and 9 hr. Neither actinomycin D nor puromycin inhibits the NAD response assayed 8 hr after testosterone injection. The possibility is discussed that androgen activates processes independent of its activation of RNA and protein synthesis, and that part of such activation is a redirection of energy metabolism toward the more efficient production of ATP.