Effects of testosterone and estradiol on rations of adult to fetal hemoglobulin in cell cultures of human fetal liver

The effects of testosterone and 17β-estradiol on the synthesis of fetal and adult hemoglobins have been studied using a short-term primary cell culture system of human fetal liver at midgestation. There was a significant 23% increase in incorporation of 59Fe into adult hemoglobin relative to the total after the addition of 5 x 10-8 M testosterone. 17β-Estradiol (10-6 M) lowered the incorporation of 59Fe by 21%. β-Globin chain synthesis, measured as 3H- or 14C-leucine incorporation into globin chains, was identical in control and testosterone-treated cells and only slightly lower when 17β-estradiol was added. For this reason the observed changes in adult hemoglobin resulting from the action of testosterone and 17β-estradiol are caused by an indirect effect either in the final hemoglobin assembly or by small changes in the γ/α-chain ratio which may be undetected by the methodology used.