title: Adrenalectomy in the neonate: adult-like adrenocortical system responses to both removal and replacement of corticosterone.
abstract: Neonatal rats exhibit a period of diminished responsiveness to stress between days 3-10 of life, which has been shown to be associated with an increased sensitivity to corticosterone (B) inhibitory feedback. In this study we further investigated B feedback potency on regulation of ACTH by examining 1) the time course of changes in pituitary ACTH secretion and content, plasma B and B-binding globulin (CBG) concentrations, and thymus weight after adrenalectomy (ADX) performed on 5-day-old pups, with or without sc 5% B pellet replacement, and 2) the time required for acute (B injection) and the B dose required for constant (B pellet) inhibition of ACTH secretion in 10-day-old ADX neonates. As in adult rats, ADX in neonates caused an immediate (3 h) large increase (13-fold) in plasma ACTH levels compared to that in sham-operated rats, followed by a decrease by 12 and 24 h after surgery and a further and sustained increase during the next 4 days. Pituitary ACTH stores were diminished in ADX rats by 3, 12, and 24 h and increased thereafter. Five percent B pellet replacement abolished ADX-induced changes in plasma and pituitary ACTH until days 4-5, when plasma ACTH was slowly released from B inhibition (circulating B values were similar to ADX values). By day 10 of life, inhibition of plasma ACTH by calculated free B showed an IC50 of 1.09 nM. Plasma CBG concentrations exhibited a clear developmental pattern in sham-operated rats, being lower on days 6-8 than earlier or later. Typical ADX-induced increases in CBG levels were observed from day 3 on after surgery, at the same time as a transient decrease in CBG levels occurred in ADX plus 5% B rats. On day 10 of age, inhibition of CBG by calculated free B demonstrated an IC50 of 1.5 nM. Although no enlargement of the thymus was observed after neonatal ADX, thymus weight was significantly diminished by 12 h after B replacement and in a dose-related manner at 5 days with B pellets containing 5-25% B. The thymus contained mostly type II glucocorticoid receptors, which did not up-regulate 3 h or 5 days after ADX. Acute sc injection of B (10-34 micrograms/g BW) in 10-day-old rats inhibited ADX-induced ACTH secretion within 30 min, and the estimated half-time for the inhibition was 40 min. By 2 h after B injection, plasma ACTH levels were comparable to those in sham-operated animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Akana
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Cascio
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Dallman
mesh_terms: D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004343:Drug Implants; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012016:Reference Values; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D014156:Transcortin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004343:Drug Implants; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D014156:Transcortin; D003345:Corticosterone