Constant occurrence of adrenocortical tissue in the juvenile rabbit ovary.

Abstract

AbstractAdrenocortex‐like cells were consistently found in the mesovarium or in the hilus of the ovary of rabbits less than three months old. The adrenocortex‐like cells occurred usually in the form of nodules among or near the mesonephric tubules. But they sometimes appeared within the rete ovarii either in direct contact with the epithelial cells or scattered in the stroma. Similar cells were newly formed in the ovarian medulla of one‐month‐old rabbits following injection of ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone).Electron micrographs showed that the adrenocortex‐like cells characteristically had a well developed agranular endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria containing tubular cristae which were arranged in villiform fashion. In addition, most endothelial cells of the capillaries among the adrenocortex‐like cells had fenestrations. The enzyme activity of 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase was histochemically demonstrated only in the identical cells of one‐month‐old rabbits. It was concluded, therefore, that the adrenocortex‐like cells in the rabbit ovary were actually adrenocortical cells.This morphological conclusion was confirmed by the biochemical demonstration of 11β‐hydroxylase, an enzyme specifically found in the adrenal cortex. The ovarian tissue, including the mesovarium from one‐month‐old rabbits, was capable of converting progesterone to corticosterone.