Both testosterone (T) and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) significantly increased colony-stimulating factor (CSF) as well as colony-inhibitory factor (CIF) in the submandibular gland (SMG) in female mice. The CIF activity was completely inactivated by heating at 60 degrees C for 15 min, while the CSF activity was stable against the heat treatment. It was found that the CSFs obtained from the androgen-treated female mice and from normal male mice behaved identically in chromatography on hydroxylapatite and Ultro-gel AcA 34 columns. The potency of DHT to increase CSF activity was about 10 times greater than that of T.