Abstract
Eightyfour male mice of D. D. strain were used in this experiment. At the 10th postnatal day all animals but normal control were castrated. Being put in gonadectomized status for 30 days, some of them were respectively administered with 1γ, 10γ and 100γ testosterone propinate (T. P., TEIKOKU Hormone Co.) daily for 5 days. Within the various lapse of time, they were decapitated. In addition, the other castrated animals were injected with 10 I. U. pituitary gonadotrophin (hypophorin, TEIKOKU Hormone Co.) daily for 10 days. Five hours after the final injection they were sacrified. The adrenal cortex, especially X-zone, was histologically investigated and the following results were obtained.
In 1γ T. P. administered mice, the hypertrophied X-zone followed by the early castration was reduced in size. This phenomenon began to be caused after 5 days, and the width of this zone became to be only 1/3 to 1/4 of whole size of cortex by androgen injection; in particular the atrophic changes were most prominent 10 to 20 days after the administration. It was obvious in present observation that the action of androgen to prevent the hypertrophy of X-zone was persistent when animals were once injected with the hormone, and the reduction in size could not be easily recovered to the castration level of non-treated. In the case of 10γ T. P. administration, the influence of androgen to X-zone was more significant. In spite of the animal difference, the involution, already occurred in general a day after the injection, became severer in 10 days and eventually this zone disappeared in 20 days. The administration of 100γ T. P. did not always make the progressive reduction in X-zone in parallel to the amount injected. The degree of involution was approximately equivalent to that by 10γ injection.
By means of injection of GTH there were neither observed any unequivocal changes in zona glomerulosa nor in zona fasciculata. The places subject to be attacked by cell damage was only X-zone: When the animals were castrated, this zone was increasingly proliferated, but the injection of GTH induced the marked atrophic or degenerative sign, which frequently showed an equivalent involution to the amount of it. In an extreme, it happened to even completely disappear.
This indicates that GTH give a more immediate effect upon X-zone than androgen, since within the shorter time the changes were usually promoted in it. It was understood in present investigation that both T. P. and GTH have together the inhibitory action to the proliferation of its cellular components. However no evidences would naturally arise that both hormones play a role in the stimulation to the secretory activity in X-zone cells.
