Plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate serves as a prehormone for 48% of follicular fluid testosterone during treatment with menotropins.

Evidence has suggested that dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DS) is a prehormone for ovarian steroidogenesis. To study this hypothesis, combined 6-h infusions of [3H]dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and [14C]testosterone ([14C]T) were performed in four normal women treated with menotropins who were undergoing medically indicated surgery, and the data were compared to those from nine normal women. The concentrations of tracer and nonisotopic DS, androst-5-ene-3 beta,17 beta-diol sulfate (delta 5diolS), androst-5-ene-3 beta,17 beta-diol (delta 5diol), dehydroepiandrosterone (D), androstenedione (delta 4A), and T were determined in arterial and venous blood and in follicular fluid. From these data, the concentrations and fractions of steroids in the follicular fluid that were derived from DS were calculated from the specific activity of intravascular DS and the concentrations of follicular fluid tracer steroids and their specific activities. The fractions of T (0.48), delta 5diol (0.31), delta 5diolS (0.42), an...