Effect of various preparations of pituitary and diencephalon on the in vitro secretion of aldosterone and corticosterone by the rat adrenal gland.

Abstract

Purified corticotropin and ACTH peptides increased the secretion of aldosterone, corticosterone, and an unidentified compound RT4in incubated rat adrenal tissue. When the response was expressed as a percentage increase above that of the control tissue, the increases in corticosterone and compound RT4followed a sigmoid log dose – response curve. The maximum effect on aldosterone was obtained at a time when the response curve for corticosterone assumed a linear relationship between the response and the logarithm of the dose of ACTH. This dose level was considerably less than that required for maximal stimulation of corticosterone.The capacity of the ACTH peptides α1+α2and δ′ for stimulating aldosterone secretion could be greatly diminished by allowing solutions of these fractions to stand at 5 °C for 1 week. These solutions still retained their ability to stimulate corticosterone secretion.Saline suspensions and extracts of fresh hog diencephalon contained a factor which selectively stimulated aldosterone secretion.