Plasma corticosteroid response to stress in four species of wild mice.

Abstract

The temporal pattern of stressinduced elevation of plasma 11-hydroxycorticosteroid concentrations was studied in 4 species of wild mice. There were highly significant differences among Mus musculus, Peromyscus boylii, Peromyscus californicus and Perognathus baileyi. The first 3 species attained plasma corticosterone concentrations markedly greater than those seen in laboratory rodents. Perognathus baileyi mice did not demonstrate an elevation of 11-hydroxycorticosteroids following exposure to a variety of stressors. Corticosterone was the principal corticosteroid found in the circulating plasma of Mus musculus, P. boylii and P. californicus; significant concentrations of corticosterone, cortisol, 11-deoxycorticosterone and 17α-hydroxy-lldeoxycorticosterone were found in Perognathus. Significant differences in adrenal weight/body weight ratios were also found among the 4 species (Endocrinology 84: 676, 1969)