Isolation of crystalline aldosterone from the urine of a child with the nephrotic syndrome.

In 1950, Deming and Luetscher (1, 2) found that the urine of patients with the nephrotic syndrome or with heart failure showed unusual sodiumretaining activity when assayed in adrenalectomized rats. Hyman (3) observed that the biologically active material was more polar than deoxycorticosterone. Luetscher and Johnson (4) described the chromatographic separation of the highly active, sodium-retaining corticoid from the urine of children with nephrosis. In 1952, Grundy, Simpson, and Tait (5) concentrated a potent mineralocorticoid, which was tentatively called electrocortin, in adrenal cortical extract. Subsequently, Simpson, Tait, Wettstein, Neher, von Euw, Schindler, and Reichstein (6, 7) have crystallized the active material and characterized it as the 11 , 1%hemiacetal of 1Soxocorticosterone (“aldosterone”). It has been noted (8) that the sodium-retaining corticoid of urine resembled aldosterone. In order to compare the substances more closely, crystalline aldosterone prepared from adrenal cortical extract and purified but amorphous sodium-retaining corticoid from human urine have been exchanged. Certain comparisons of these materials are reported here.