Adrenal cortex antibodies (ACA) were measured by immunofluorescence in 8840 adult patients with organ-specific autoimmune diseases without overt hypoadrenalism. Sixty-seven (0.8%) patients were ACA-positive, with the highest prevalence in those with premature ovarian failure (8.9%). Forty-eight ACA-positive and 20 ACA-negative individuals were enrolled into a prospective study. Antibodies to st...

EIGHT years ago observations were made on the adrenalectomised animal which gave the impression that the adrenal cortex is in, some way involved in the mechanism of biological oxidation. A detailed study of the biological oxidation was begun in the hope that this study might lead to the understanding of the function of the interrenal system. Through several years different animal, vegetable and...

BACKGROUND Hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation are basic characteristics of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and androgens from the adrenal glands play an important role in the hyperandrogenism. Our aim was to evaluate the proliferative activity in the zona reticularis cells of the adrenal cortex of female rats in persistent estrus, a model developed to mimic PCOS. METHODS Forty-four fe...

Estrogen is a steroid hormone that regulates embryogenesis, cell proliferation and differentiation, organogenesis, the timing of parturition, and fetal imprinting by carrying chemical messages from glands to cells within tissues or organs in the body. During development, placenta is the primary source of estrogen production but estrogen can only be produced if the fetus or the mother supplies d...

Functional zonation of the adrenal cortex is a consequence of the zone-specific expression of P450c17 (CYP17A1) and its cofactors. Activin and inhibin peptides are differentially produced within the zones of the adrenal cortex and have been implicated in steroidogenic control. In this study, we investigated whether activin and inhibin can function as intermediates in functional zonation of the ...

The importance of the adrenal cortex in diabetes mellitus has been emphasized since the demonstration that the removal of the adrenals would lead to amelioration of diabetes in a depancreatectomized animal,) and that the administration of adrenal extract or hormones would produce an experimental diabetes.2) It is well known that the tumors or hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex are often associat...