title: Pituitary and hypothalamic hormones in normal and neoplastic adrenal medullae: biologically active corticotropin-releasing hormone and corticotropin.
abstract: Six normal and 8 neoplastic adrenal medullae were assayed for several immunoreactive (IR) proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and hypothalamic peptides. IR-POMC peptides were found in normal and tumor tissue in concentrations ranging from 0.0003 to 0.1% of those in pituitary. Their molecular sizes resembled those of pituitary intermediate lobe POMC peptides. No intact POMC was found. One pheochromocytoma contained fully bioactive IR-adrenocorticotropic hormone (IR-ACTH; Mr approximately 4,500) and an intermediate-sized (Mr approximately 10,000) IR-ACTH with approximately 69% bioactivity. Normal and tumorous medullae contained IR-corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in concentrations ranging from 0.6 to 4% of those in hypothalamus except for one pheochromocytoma that contained 40 times that amount of IR-CRH, which was chromatographically indistinguishable from hypothalamic CRH and fully bioactive. IR-somatostatin and IR-growth hormone-releasing hormone were found in both tissue types, but IR-gonadotropin-releasing hormone and IR-thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were not, although IR-histidyl-proline diketopiperazine, a putative TRH metabolite, was found. IR-arginine vasopressin was found in two normal medullae, but not in pheochromocytomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232.
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: DeCherney
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Orth
mesh_terms: D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D000313:Adrenal Medulla / Q000378:metabolism*; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000378:metabolism*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
chemical_list: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone