COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON TISSUE CORTICOSTEROID CONTENT AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURE IN FUNCTIONING ADRENOCORTICAL ADENOMA AND HYPERPLASIA

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For the purpose of clarifying the functional significance of clear- and compact-type cells, correlative hormonal and morphological studies were per-formed on adrenocortical tumors associated with primary aldosteronism, Cushing's syndrome or non-dyshormonal symptoms. The content of aldosterone, corticosterone and cortisol in adrenal tissue was estimated by radioimmunoassay, and, on the surface of a quantitative sample, the ratio of its constituent cell-type was examined in sections with oil red O stain and/or H-E stain.
The content of aldosterone and corticosterone was significantly higher in primary aldosteronism (P<0.001) than in Cushing's syndrome and in non-functioning tumor, with a mean value of 1.22±0.15 and 7.52±1.05ng/mg tissue, respectively. In Cushing's syndrome, cortisol content showed a high value, 9.27±1.60ng/mg tissue. The steroid content was different in each case, and varied with parts of the quantitative sample even in the same case.
Though the correlation of aldosterone content and compact-type cell population in primary aldosteronism showed a negative trend and that of cortisol content and compact-type cell in Cushing's syndrome had a positive, neither correlation was statistically significant.