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Free Fatty Acids Do not Influence the Concentrations Free Steroid Hormones in Serum under Physiological Conditions^*

Reproductive Endocrinology Center and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (J.T.M., P.K.S.) and Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Department of Medicine (C.M.M.), University of California San Francisco, California 94143

Address requests for reprints to: Dr. James T. Murai, Reproductive Endocrinology Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Science, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143–0556.

In several recent studies it has been suggested that FFA may influence the concentrations of unbound steroid hormones in serum, but the experimental design of these studies has been questioned. We have reexamined the effects of oleic acid on the unbound concentrations of several steroid hormones in serum, including cortisol, testosterone, and estradiol. The results demonstrate that under physiological conditions, oleic acid does not affect the unbound concentrations of these hormones when assays are carried out with whole serum.

^* This work was supported by NCI Grant CA-39825A and NIH Grant DK-40355.

Received May 22, 1990.