Influences of some steroids on the corticosterone production by rat adrenal in vitro.

A prolonged administration of glucocorticoids produces adrenal atrophy or hypofunction in man and experimental animals(Winter et al., 1950; Fraser et al., 1952; Lewis et al., 1953; Salassa et al., 1953; Dermatini et al., 1955; Bierich et al., 1959). This adrenal insufficiency has been attributed to a reduced ACTH secretion from the pituitary gland(Sayers and Sayers, 1950). For the prevention of this adrenal atrophy,the addition of exogenous ACTH to corticoid has been advocated(Young et al., 1957; Bierich et al., 1959). But the efficacy of such combined therapy is not firmly established. Failure of such combined therapy in maintaining normal adrenal function has been frequently observed, but after discontinuance of administration of corticoids exogenous ACTH shows an intense effect upon a functional recovery of the adrenal cortex. In order to examine the possibility of an inhibitory action of glucocorticoid on the effect of ACTH at a level of the adrenal cortex, influences of some steroid hormones on the production of corticosterone by rat adrenal were studied in vitro.