Origins of the differences in function of rat adrenal zona glomerulosa cells incubated as intact tissue and as collagenase-prepared cell suspensions.

While in vitro incubation of dispersed cell preparations of adrenal cell types has been widely used as an experimental model, few studies have addressed the possibility that the enzymic and mechanical treatments involved may affect tissue functions. Using rat adrenal whole capsule tissue, consisting of glomerulosa cells still attached to the connective tissue capsule together with some fasciculata cells, and dispersed glomerulosa cell preparations formed by a variety of enzymic and incubation treatments, striking differences have been demonstrated between the functions of the various preparations in vitro. Under ACTH stimulation, whole capsules produced (ng per pair +/- s.e.) 405 +/- 35 ng aldosterone, 650 +/- 60 ng 18-hydroxycorticosterone (18-OH-B) and 850 +/- 90 ng corticosterone. In cells dispersed by collagenase incubation followed by repeated pipetting and filtration, aldosterone and 18-OH-B yields under ACTH stimulation fell to values less than 10% of those produced by whole tissue, whereas corticosterone values were unchanged. Omitting the filtration step gave a less well marked decline in aldosterone and 18-OH-B to 50% of intact tissue values. When the tissue was not dispersed after collagenase incubation, aldosterone and 18-OH-B outputs were similar in the two preparations. The decline in aldosterone and 18-OH-B is not attributable to loss in cell-cell contact alone, since short term culture of collagenase dispersed cells on contracting collagen discs did not restore the capacity to produce these steroids, and a decline in their output also occurred in similar culture of intact capsule tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Studies on the mechanism of secretion of corticosteroids by the isolated perfused adrenal of the rat.

A technique for the perfusion of the rat adrenal cortex is described. With tissue culture Medium 199 the preparation was responsive in terms of steroid production of both ACTH and K+ ions. Production of corticosterone and 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-hydroxy-DOC) was stimulated by ACTH when it was administered at rates between 5 uu.'/min and 5 mu./min. Increasing the K+ ion concentration of the perfusate from 3.6 to 5.4 and 8.9 mmol/l stimulated the production of aldosterone, 18-hydroxycorticosterone and deoxycorticosterone, although not of corticosterone or 18-hydroxy-DOC. This preparation has been used to study further the mechanism of secretion of corticosterone and 18-hydroxy-DOC. Thus, production of these two steroids was measured at different perfusion flows, varying between 0.1 and 0.6ml/min, with different levels of ACTH stimulation. Corticosterone production was significantly (P less than 0.001) increased by increasing flows both under control conditions and with ACTH was administered at constant rates of 50 uu./min or 1 mu./min. Production of 18-hydroxy-DOC was not affected by flow either under control conditions or with 50 uu. ACTH/min. However, when ACTH was administered at 1 mu./min. 18-hydroxy-DOC production was also significantly (P less than 0.001) increased by flow. The results are consistent with those obtained in previous in-vitro studies and have been interpreted as suggesting that the main mechanism of corticosterone secretion is simple diffusion. In contrast, 18-hydroxy-DOC secretion, at least at sub-maximal levels of stimulation, appears to require a more complex process.