Effects of ACTH and oestradiol on steroid production by cultured adrenal cells from an anencephalic foetus and from normal adults

Abstract

Dispersed adrenal cells from a 16 week anencephalic foetus, 7 foetuses with intact pituitaries and 3 adult subjects at the time of renal transplantation were maintained in tissue culture for 6 days and the steroidogenic responses to ACTH (0-133 pg/ml) with or without added oestradiol (0-104 ng/ml) were evaluated. The anencephalic cells showed a delayed response to ACTH but by the fifth day production of cortisol (1 μg per 105 cells per day), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and DHA-sulphate was similar to that in the other cultured foetal adrenal cells. The addition of oestradiol caused dose-related inhibition of cortisol production and concomitant increase in DHA and DHA-sulphate production. The adult adrenal cells in the presence of ACTH showed a much higher cortisol-DHA secretion ratio (on average 60-hold higher) but the addition of oestradiol markedly reduced this ratio as in foetal cells. These data support the suggestion that the relative 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency characteristic of the foetus is not an intrinsic property of foetal adrenal cells but is imposed by the combined effects of ACTH and steroids within the foetal environment (such as oestradiol).