Studies Concerning the Role of the Adrenal Cortex in the Pathologic Physiology of Diabetic Acidosis. II. The Identification of Adrenal-Conditioned Factors in the Physiologic Reaction to the Stress of Insulin Deprivation1

Abstract

Metabolic constituents of exptl. diabetic acidosis produced by insulin deprivation in depancreatized dogs which are temporally related to the occurrence of evidences of increased adrenal activity, prematurely induced by exogenous stimulation of the adrenal cortex during mild stress, and diminished or suppressed by maintenance of a fixed supply of adrenal cortical hormones during severe stress are postulated as adrenal-conditioned. Constituents fulfilling these criteria were found to include: hematologic changes comprising increased neutrophil and total white blood cell counts and markedly decreased eosinophil and lymphocyte counts; increased catabolism of protoplasm; loss of K in excess of N; and decreased sensitivity to injd. insulin. It is concluded that the increase in adrenal cortical activity which occurs in response to the stress of insulin deprivation, by conditioning or sustaining a no. of other constituents of the alarm reaction to this stress, contributes significantly to the pathologic physiol. of exptl. diabetic acidosis.