Effect of lytic enzymes upon the responsivity of rat adrenals in vitro. I. Effect of trypsin upon the steroidogenic action of reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide.

Abstract

Preincubation of rat adrenal sections with trypsin plus deoxyribonuclease and ribonuclease markedly reduced the steroidogenic action of G6P + NADP on rat adrenal sections but did not impair the response of the tissue to ACTH or 3′,5′-AMP. Parallel study of the histology of rat adrenal sections incubated with trypsin showed that a large part of the inner portion of the zona fasciculata was autolyzed or otherwise abnormal in appearance. The zona glomerulosa and outer zona fasciculata did not show evidence of abnormality. The results obtained do not support the general assumption that a common adrenal cell responds to all 3 stimulators of steroidogenesis. Rather, they indicate that the response of adrenal sections to NADPH is due to the reaction of damaged cells which do not respond to ACTH or 3′,5′-AMP. The relevance of this heterogeneity of response in vitro of the steroid synthesizing cells of the rat adrenal to the study of ACTH action is discussed. (Endocrinology 83: 61, 1968)