Effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, and insulin on steroid production by human adrenocortical carcinoma cells in culture.

Adrenocortical carcinoma tissue removed from a mildly hirsute 16-year-old girl was cultured in order to assess steroidogenesis and responsiveness of the cells to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and insulin. The cells in culture produced large amounts of androstenedione and testosterone; however, production of cortisol, which was initially high, decreased with time. No aldosterone, estrone, or estradiol was produced in vitro.

An organ culture model for the study of metanephric development.

A murine whole organ metanephric culture system was designed to study the developmental aspects of mammalian nephrogenesis. Metanephros and ureteric bud were removed from CFI albino mouse embryos at 13.5 +/- 0.

A virilizing adrenocortical tumor in a female infant: in vivo and in vitro biochemical characteristics.

Normal adrenal and adrenal tumor cells from a female infant with a virilizing adrenal tumor were grown in tissue culture as monolayers for a period of 7 weeks. Half of the cultures were exposed to ACTH (0.1 U/ml).

The effect of adrenocorticotrophin on protein degradation in rat adrenal gland and liver.

The rate of adrenal protein degradation appears to be slower in rats to which ACTH (adrenocorticotrophin) has been chronically administered. As measured by the exponential decay of radioactively labelled adrenal protein in vivo, the mean half-lives of total protein and of mitochondrial, microsomal and 18000g-supernatant protein were significantly longer in ACTH-treated animals. Experiments in which either [(3)H]leucine or NaH(14)CO(3) was used to label proteins showed that of the fractions studied, the effect on mitochondrial protein degradation was most pronounced.

Ribonucleic acid control of steroid synthesis in human adrenals and testes.

The pattern of steroid synthesis in human fetal testes and adrenals was altered by prior exposure, in organ culture of the explants, of one gland to the ribonucleic acid extracted from the other gland. The new pattern reflected the origin of the RNA.

Ribonucleic acid: control of steroid synthesis in endocrine tissue.

Ribonucleic acid extracted from either adrenal or testis altered the enzyme activity of adrenals and ovaries maintained in organ culture. The pattern of steroid hormone synthesis of the cultured endocrine tissue reflected the origin of the RNA.