Affiliation:
1. Department of Biochemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Abstract
The in vitro steroidogenic capacity of an adrenal adenoma and adjacent adrenal tissue of a patient with primary aldosteronism was studied. The adenoma slices elaborated into the incubation medium 7.07 μg/g tissue of cortisol (78.2%), corticosterone (7.6%), and aldosterone (14.2%), while the slices of adjacent adrenal gland released 19.88 μg/g tissue of cortisol (79.1%), corticosterone (14.9%), 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione (3.9%), androstenedione (2.1%), and a trace of aldosterone. The steroid content of the adenoma and the adrenal slices after incubation was 4.22 and 3.19 μg/g tissue respectively. From the former, cortisol (51.1%), corticosterone (36.6%), and progesterone (12.4%) were isolated and from the latter cortisol (13.2%), corticosterone (56.1%), progesterone (17.2%), and androstenedione (13.5%). A sample of adrenal vein blood obtained prior to adrenalectomy exhibited a cortisol/corticosterone ratio of 2.45.
Publisher
Canadian Science Publishing