STIMULATION OF ADRENAL 5-ENE,3β-HYDROXYSTEROID DEHYDROGENASE BY CORTICOTROPHIN IN VITRO
Division of Cellular Biology, The Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Bute Gardens, London, W6 7DW (Received 24 April 1978) It is well established (Chayen, Daly, Loveridge & Bitensky, 1976) that segments of guineapig adrenal gland can be maintained in vitro and will respond to low concentrations (0·005– 5·0 pg/ml) of corticotrophin (ACTH). The response measured in the cytochemical bioassay of ACTH is the loss of ascorbate from the zona reticularis (Chayen, Loveridge & Daly, 1972), which is directly related to secretion of cortisol by these segments (Chayen, Bitensky, Chambers, Loveridge & Daly, 1974). However, because both major zones of the adrenal cortex are involved in steroidogenesis (see, e.g., Symington, 1969; Hyatt, Bell, Gould, Tait & Tait, 1976), the lack of a response in the zona fasciculata seems to be anomalous. To test whether the cells of the zona fasciculata in guinea-pig adrenal segments can respond to low concentrations