EFFECT OF HYPERBARIC OXYGEN ON CORTICOSTEROID SECRETION AND MORPHOLOGY OF ORGAN CULTURES OF ADULT RAT ADRENAL GLANDS

Abstract

SUMMARY Slices of adrenal glands of 4- to 6-months-old Sprague—Dawley rats were cultured for up to 6 days under air or hyperbaric oxygen in a mixture of 80% Parker's tissue culture Medium 199 and 20% horse serum. The use of hyperbaric oxygen instead of air resulted in a marked improvement in the microscopic appearance of the adrenal slices in cultures of 3–6 days duration. There was a marked stimulation of steroid output in cultures exposed to hyperbaric oxygen during the first 24 hr. After this time, in spite of the improved histological appearance of the tissue slices, no significant difference in steroid output was observed. Female glands secrete about twice as much steroid per unit weight as male glands under similar hyperbaric conditions. Corticosterone, 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone and 18-hydroxycorticosterone were the most abundant steroids secreted, but smaller amounts of aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone were also identified. Hyperbaric oxygen did not materially affect the relative amounts of the various steroids. The presence of a greater quantity of adrenocortical tissue in female animals was confirmed. The absolute weight of the medulla in male animals was significantly greater than that of females of the same age, but when expressed in terms of body weight the female medulla was greater than the male medulla.