A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOME OF THE CHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES ELICITED IN THE ADRENALS BY STRESS AND PURIFIED ACTH

Abstract

The effects on the adrenal cortex of single and repeated injns. of ACTH were investigated and compared with the changes observed after exposure to acute systemic stress (cold, fasting, spinal cord transection). A single injn. of ACTH produced a rapid but very transient fall of adrenal stainable lipids. No such decrease was observed after 24 and 48 hrs. of repeated injns. despite a marked depletion of the cholesterol and ascorbic acid content. This is in distinct contrast to the pictures observed after systemic stress of the same duration where all the above adrenal constituents decreased proportionately. It is concluded that ACTH alone does not account for the adrenal response during the alarm reaction.