To study the influence of 5 alpha-reductase on the concentration of dihydrotestosterone in prostatic tissue, we measured the activity of this enzyme in stroma and epithelium from 15 normal, 50 hyperplastic, and 20 carcinomatous prostates. Maximum velocity (Vmax) and Km parameters based on the Lineweaver-Burk and Eadie-Hofstee transformations of the Michaelis-Menten equation were related to the stromal and epithelial concentrations of dihydrotestosterone. On the basis of relative Vmax values, there was 6-15 times more 5 alpha-reductase activity in stroma than in epithelium regardless of the histology of the prostate. Stromal enzyme activity also was unique in having a 2- to 5-fold larger mean Km value and greater resistance to competitive and noncompetitive inhibition. Despite the enrichment of 5 alpha-reductase activity in stroma, the dihydrotestosterone concentrations in the stromal and epithelial fractions were very similar. In addition, similar concentrations were found in the stromal fractions of hyperplastic and carcinomatous tissues, notwithstanding a 4-fold difference in the mean Vmax values. This anomaly occurred in association with a large disparity in mean Km values, i.e. 68.3 +/- 1.6 (+/- SE) nmol/L in hyperplasia vs. 23.0 +/- 2.9 nmol/L in carcinoma. The dissociation between parameters of 5 alpha-reductase activity and tissue dihydrotestosterone concentrations was apparent to some extent in benign prostatic hyperplasia, in which the lowest stromal androgen concentrations were found in prostates with the largest Vmax and Km values; also, a rise in stromal Km was almost invariably associated with a proportional increase in Vmax (correlation coefficient = 0.95). These data strongly suggest that the stromal and epithelial forms of 5 alpha-reductase are separate isoenzymes, and that the excess of 5 alpha-reductase in stroma does not promote accumulation of an abnormal amount of dihydrotestosterone. They also imply that both the augmentation of 5 alpha-reductase activity in hyperplastic stroma and the condition of benign hyperplasia of the prostate are mutual consequences of a primary increase in Km.

Eight red deer stags, 2 control, 3 control-immunized (i.e. a low titre of LHRH antibodies after active immunization 2 years earlier) and 3 superior cervical ganglionectomized, were given a s.c. implant of melatonin in May at the nadir of the sexual cycle; 5 other stags remained untreated. All the melatonin-treated animals shed the velvet-like skin from the antlers in June or July at least 1 month before the untreated controls, and had an early increase in blood plasma testosterone concentrations. The treated stags were also precocious in the development of rutting behaviour, although this inductive effect was blocked dramatically in the control-immunized stags after a booster immunization against LHRH; these animals failed to show any further reproductive development and cast their antlers. It is concluded that continuous exposure to melatonin in early summer will induce premature seasonal testicular development, an effect dependent on the secretion of LHRH, and similar to that produced by exposure to short daylengths.

The domestication of plants and animals is recognized as pivotal in mankind's social evolution. Yet, surprisingly few species have actually been farmed, prompting speculation as to which attributes are needed for successful domestication. Although red deer were the staple source of meat throughout Europe in the mesolithic, they have not been widely domesticated, leading many ethologists to argue that they are behaviourally unsuitable. Recently, the most widely accepted criterion of domestication, the ability of farmers to control the breeding of a species, has been fulfilled in red and other species of deer with the widespread adoption of even the most technologically advanced methods of artificial breeding. Simultaneously and conversely, the population growth of wild deer in many temperate parts of the world has stimulated a search for contraceptive techniques.