A comparative study of adrenal steroid biosynthesis in two species of monkeys

Abstract

Adrenal slices of Macaca speciosa (M.s.) and Saimiri sciureus (S.S.), incubated for 4 h in Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate glucose medium with radioactive pregnenolone, progesterone, deoxycorticosterone (DOC), and corticosterone, displayed marked differences between the two glands in the biotransformation of the substrates. M.s. adrenals formed aldosterone in high yield from all the substrates added; by contrast, S.s. adrenals yielded no aldosterone from any of the substrates, but amounts of corticosterone were produced greatly exceeding those obtained with M.s. glands. Cortisol was also produced in greater yield by S.s. glands, and pregnenolone was by far the better substrate. 11β-Hydroxyandrostenedione, derived from pregnenolone, was only obtained from S.s. glands as was 11-dehydrocorticosterone, derived from progesterone, DOC, and corticosterone. 18-Hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-OH-DOC) was isolated with DOC in the presence of nicotinamide after incubation of S.s., but not M.s., adrenals. The biotransformation of radioactive 18-OH-DOC was studied only with M.s. adrenals. Aldosterone was obtained in 5% and 18-hydroxycorticosterone in 0.6% yield; no other conversion products were detected.