DEMONSTRATION OF A GLUCOCORTICOID-LIKE SUBSTANCE IN THE SPLEEN

Abstract

SUMMARY 1. Fresh splenic tissue from pigs was extracted by the method of Swingle & Pfiffner for adrenocortical extracts, 1 ml. being equivalent to 100 g splenic tissue. 2. The material extracted was readily soluble in ethanol, benzene, acetone and water, but not in petroleum ether. It contained no protein, bile pigments, fat, fatty acids or cholesterol, and had marked reducing properties. 3. Administration of the extract to adrenalectomized male mice caused an increase, continuous with increasing dose of extract, in the glycogen content of liver and muscle. The increase in liver glycogen produced by 1·2 ml. extract was about the same as that caused by 2 mg cortisone. 4. In intact rats the extract caused an increase in blood sugar and in the glycogen content of liver and muscle. Cortisone had a similar effect. 5. Neither the splenic extract nor cortisone raised the glycogen content of the brain in adrenalectomized mice or intact rats. 6. Thus the spleen contains a substance which has a glucocorticoid-like effect on the carbohydrate metabolism of adrenalectomized and intact animals. In view of its chemical and biological properties, this substance is thought to be a glucocorticoid originating in the adrenal cortex. A substance with similar effects has been previously detected in liver, brain and muscle.