THE ADRENAL CORTEX OF THE PANTOTHENIO ACID-DEFICIENT RAT: EOSINOPHILE AND LYMPHOCYTE RESPONSES1–2

Abstract

THE importance of pantothenic acid in the maintenance of the adrenal cortex of the rat has been known on morphological grounds since the initial observations of Daft and Sebrell (1939) Nelson (1939), Daft et al. (1940), and Ashburn (1940). More recently the histological changes occurring in the adrenal of the pantothenic acid-deficient rat have been reported in some detail by Deane and McKibbin (1946), who have described such changes as hypertrophy, depletion of sudanophilic and “ketosteroid” substances, and focal necrosis, hemorrhage and fibroblastic activity. As noted by previous observers, these changes appear to affect predominantly the zona fasciculata and the zona reticularis. Surprisingly few functional studies of the adrenal cortex of the pantothenate-deficient rat have been reported. Gaunt et al. (1946) have shown that deficiency of this vitamin increases the sensitivity of the rat to water intoxication as compared to pair-fed controls. This increased sensitivity could be abolished, however, if the animals were pretreated with adrenal extract, desoxycorticosterone