J.R. Bassett

Vascularization of the adrenal cortex: its possible involvement in the regulation of steroid hormone release.

This review examines the morphology of the adrenal gland with particular reference to the adrenal vasculature. It examines the possibility that variability in adrenal gland responsiveness may be attributable to neural or hormonal modulation of adrenal blood flow. Changes in the rate of blood flow through the adrenal cortex would be expected to play an important role in the regulation of steroid hormone release. It would affect both the delivery of the major stimulant (ACTH) and the removal of the end product from the steroidogenic cells (the glucocorticoids). In the past, interest in this area has concentrated on the regulation of arterial blood flow, rather than the regulation of venous drainage. The current review examines the concept of vascular damming, and attempts to link the morphological features of the gland with experimental data associated with glucocorticoid release. It is postulated that regulation of venous drainage, via the vascular dam, plays an important role in the storage of the secretory product during the animals inactive phase, and in the initial rapid rise in plasma levels of the glucocorticoids seen in response to stress or injection of ACTH. Microsc. Res. Tech. 36:546–557, 1997.

Plasma glucocorticoid elevation and desynchronization of the estrous cycle following unpredictable stress in the rat.

Exposure of female Wistar rats to a signalled unpredictable 5-day stress regimen induced extreme plasma corticosterone elevation at all four stages of the estrous cycle. The corticosterone level at proestrus was significantly higher than at the other three stages of the cycle in both control and stressed groups. This rise in plasma corticosterone became evident only in late proestrus. It was observed that the estrous cycles of 50% of the rats became desynchronized over the 5-day stress period; a steroid hormone imbalance is suggested as a possible factor contributing to this desynchrony.

Effect of prolonged exposure to nicotine and stress on the pituitary-adrenocortical response; the possibility of cross-adaptation

Daily IP injections of nicotine (200 micrograms/kg body weight) resulted in an adaptation of the nicotine induced rise in plasma corticosterone. By 30 days the plasma corticosterone rise was not significantly different from that seen in control animals receiving an injection of saline. A similar adaptation to the plasma corticosterone response to the stress of signalled, irregular footshock was also observed. However, in the case of the exposure to stress, while the corticosterone response at day 40 was significantly less than the response seen on day 1, it was still significantly greater than the plasma corticosterone level from unstressed control animals. Cross-adaptation experiments were conducted in which animals were adapted to the steroidogenic action of nicotine and then subjected to a novel exposure to footshock stress, and vice versa. In both situations the animals responded to the novel stimulus, either stress or nicotine, with a significant rise in plasma corticosterone. It was postulated that nicotine and psychological stress act upon the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis via functionally separate pathways at the level of the corticotrophin releasing factor neuron. The separate pathways appear to differ in their ability to be inhibited by corticosterone feedback.

Plasma Glucocorticoid Elevation and Ultrastructural Changes in the Adenohypophysis of the Male Rat Following Prolonged Exposure to Stress

A morphological and ultrastructural study is described which indicates that cellular activity in the adenohypophysis correlates well with the circulating levels of corticosterone. Intense secretory activity is observed in all tropic cells of the adenohypophysis over 10 days; thereafter the cellular morphology shows a return to the control condition. There are, however, differences in the degree of adaptation between the different tropic cells. After its initial hyperactivity, corticotrope activity returned to a control level by 20 days. Thyrotrope activity was also found to adapt to control activity, but only after 40 days. Similar patterns were observed in the stomatotrope and gonadotrope, where the initial hypertrophy returned to control levels by 20 days; thereafter, however, an inhibition was observed. The luteotrope however, seems to be an exception in that its level of activity increased throughout the duration of the stress procedure.

The involvement of coated vesicles in the secretion of corticosterone by the zona fasciculata of the rat adrenal cortex

Following exposure of rats to unpredictable stress there was a marked increase in the number of coated vesicles in contact with or close to the cell membrane of the zona fasciculata cells. The close correlation between the vesicle numbers and the plasma levels of corticosterone led to the hypothesis that the coated vesicles were intimately involved in the secretory process. The use of horseradish peroxidase as a tracer protein confirmed that the coated vesicles were not involved in pinocytosis and the inward movement of materials, this function being performed by a much larger uncoated vesicle. The presence of microtubules associated with the coated vesicles and radiating through the Golgi body region, the site of formation of the vesicles, suggested that they may be involved in the transport of the secretory product to the cell membrane. The use of microtubules inhibitors, colchicine and vinblastine, were found to significantly reduce the plasma steroid response to stress. On the basis of these findings a new secretory mechanism was postulated.

Time course for plasma 11-hydroxycorticosteroid elevation in rats during stress.

The time course of plasma 11-hydroxysteroid elevation was studied in two stress situations: regular unsignalled foot shock which produces an intermediate steroid elevation and irregular signalled foot shock with the possibility of escape, which produces an extreme steroid elevation. The initial time course for steroid elevation followed a similar pattern for both treatment groups with the exception that in the irregular signalled group the plasma steroid elevation was more pronounced and there was an indication of biphasic response. The results are discussed in terms of possible inhibitory feedback pathways.

Endogenous brain norepinephrine levels following bilateral olfactory bulb ablation

Changes in endogenous norepinephrine (NE) levels after bilateral olfactory bulb section have been found to occur in the rat brain. Since olfactory tract projections are confined to the ventral adrenergic pathway, and this pathway projects to the pyriform cortex, it was decided to examine the distribution of endogenous NE between the pyriform cortex and the remaining neocortex. It was demonstrated that significant reductions in NE content occurred in both brain regions, although the greater reduction occurred in the pyriform cortex. there were no significant changes in hypothalamic NE. It is concluded that sensory deprivation plus olfactory system damage induce specific changes in central function, which relate to noradrenergic pathways.

Histological identification of osteocytes in the allegedly acellular bone of the sea breams Acanthopagrus australis, Pagrus auratus and Rhabdosargus sarba (Sparidae, Perciformes, Teleostei)

The bone of advanced teleost fishes such as those of the family Sparidae is said to lack osteocytes or to be acellular. Acellularity has been determined by apparent lack of osteocyte lacunae. This study questions the validity of this criterion. Scanning electron and light microscopy of paraffin and resin sections were used to show that the sides of sea bream mandibles consist of laminar parallel-fibred bone that we call tubular bone, because it contains tubules, and localised regions of Sharpey fibre bone. Osteocytes lie along the walls of tubules that also contain collagen fibril bundles (T-fibres), or in the lumens of tubules that do not contain T-fibres. We show that the osteocytes are derived from osteoblasts. The T-fibre system is different from other fibre systems that have been described. The tubules enclose wide T-fibres (lenticular in cross-section, maximum width about 8 μm) that taper at their ends and continue as thin T-fibres (round in crosssection, about 2 μm wide). The T-fibres originate in the periosteum. In mature tubular bone, spaces of increasing size develop around the osteocytes. Osteocytes are released from the bone matrix and become postosteocytes or bone-lining cells. Secondary bone lines the largest spaces. In Sharpey fibre bone, small osteocytes in small lacunae (about 2 μm wide) are found in columns parallel to the Sharpey fibres. Large osteocytes are found in large round spaces and are much larger than comparable osteocytes in lacunae in the bone of the salmon Salmo salar. We conclude that an absence of visible or conventional osteocyte lacunae does not mean that the cells themselves are absent. There are cells and two types of collagen fibre bundle in the tubules. The cells are osteocytes derived from osteoblasts, and these osteocytes apparently resorb bone with the result that large amounts of bone are destroyed. “Acellular” tubular and Sharpey fibre bone are types of cellular bone that differ from each other and from conventional cellular bone.

The effect of acute nicotine administration on plasma levels of the thyroid hormones and corticosterone in the rat.

The effects of a single intraperitoneal injection of nicotine hydrogen tartrate (200 micrograms/kg) on the plasma levels of thyroxine, triiodothyronine and corticosterone were monitored over a 24 hour period. Nicotine did not alter the plasma levels of either of the thyroid hormones but did produce a significant increase in plasma corticosterone, an effect which peaked at 20 min post-injection and lasted for 45 min.

Morphological changes induced in rats following prolonged exposure to stress

Prolonged exposure of male C. S. F. rats to irregular signalled footshick from which they could escape for up to 71 days produced profound morphological changes. Retardation in growth, adrenal hypertrophy associated with an increase in the zona fasiculata a-nd zona reticularis, and changes in the microcirculation of the heart were observed. There was a significant degree of congestion and dilatation of the microcirculation which was most marked in large venules, collecting venules and veins. An increase in PAS +ve material marginated in the venous endothelium was observed also, together with a suggested increase in mast cells and presence of vacuoles in the intima-media of the coronary arterioles. No pathological changes were observed in the renal cortex and medulla or the gastric lining. The changes in the microcirculation of the heart are discussed in terms of an oedematous reaction and a histamine type leakage of the endothelial lining.