IDENTIFICATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PAROTID FLUID CORTICOSTEROIDS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Parotid fluid, which can be collected in continuous fashion, was previously shown to possess free 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OH-CS) levels which paralleled those in serum and reached a maximum two hours after corticotrophin or cortisol administration to normal men. The present study demonstrates that intravenously administered cortisol rapidly appears in parotid fluid, and that, thus, parotid fluid 17-OH-CS levels would serve as reliable indicators of plasma corticosteroid levels. This was borne out by ACTH stimulation studies in patients with Cushing's Syndrome as well as adrenal hyporesponsiveness. In the third trimester of pregnancy, despite the large rise in plasma 17-OH-CS, there was only a small, though significant, increase in parotid fluid 17-OH-CS. Conjugated 17-OH-CS were not found in appreciable quantity in parotid fluid. Chemical and radioisotopic techniques indicated cortisol and cortisone to be the major human parotid fluid 17-OH-CS. Parotid tissue from the dog converted cortisol to cortisone. Radioactive aldosterone, oestrogen and androgen also appeared in parotid fluid after intravenous injection.