Fig 4. Time-course of the conversion of tritiated pregnenolone ([3H]Δ5P) into radioactive 17-hydroxypregnenolone (17OH-Δ5P), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), progesterone (P), dihydroprogesterone (DHP) and tetrahydroprogesterone (THP) by frog hypothalamic explants in the absence (○) or presence of 3x10-6 M etifoxine (●).
The values were calculated from the areas under the peaks in chromatograms similar to those presented in Fig. 1. Results are expressed as percentages of the amount of each steroid formed compared to the total amount of radiolabeled compounds resolved by HPLC analysis including [3H]Δ 5P. Values are the mean (± SEM) of four independent experiments. *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001 compared to respective control values; ns, not statistically different (one-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc Dunnett’s test).