THE EFFECT OF SEX HORMONES ON HEPATIC AND RENAL LESIONS INDUCED IN RATS BY A CHOLINE-DEFICIENT DIET1,2

While producing cirrhosis in rats by high fat, low choline diets, the authors observed that the livers of female rats showed less severe lesions than those of males. Similarly, the kidneys of young females appeared to withstand the effects of low choline diets better than the kidneys of young males. These findings are in agreement with those first reported by Griffith (1940). In an effort to explore the factors involved in these sex related differences, injections of estrogens and androgens were given to groups of both males and females on the experimental diet. The results indicate that the renal and hepatic lesions which develop after feeding rats a high fat, low choline diet may be altered by hormonal injections. The present findings, plus those reported in a preliminary note (1947) complement the work of Gyorgy, Rose, and Shipley (1947, 1949).