CELL PROLIFERATION IN THE PREPUBERTAL MALE RAT ADRENAL CORTEX: AN AUTORADIOGRAPHIC STUDY

in Journal of Endocrinology
Author:
N. A. WRIGHT
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SUMMARY

On the basis of labelling indices measured with tritiated thymidine at intervals throughout its thickness, the adrenal cortex of prepubertal male rats has been divided into four compartments. These are called the glomerular, proliferative, fascicular and reticular compartments, respectively. Labelling indices measured for each compartment showed highest values in the glomerular and proliferative compartments, with values of 6·73% and 7·09% respectively. The fascicular compartment showed a lower index of 3·16% while the reticular compartment gave the lowest value of 1·15%. These differences are further reflected in measurements of the mitotic indices for each compartment.

The phases of the cell cycle have been measured by pulse-chase analysis in each compartment, and all phases estimated showed an increase in duration as the inner compartments were approached. The duration of interphase DNA synthesis (ts) was found to be shortest in the glomerular and proliferative compartments, with values of 7·45 and 7·73 h, respectively. The fascicular compartment showed lengthening of ts to 8·56 h, and the reticular compartment gave the highest value of 9·21 h. Similarly, the values obtained for G2 (the post-DNA synthetic interval) and tm (the duration of mitosis), and a calculated value of the cell cycle time all showed a general increase in duration from the outer to the inner compartments. The relation of these results to theories of adrenocortical cytogenesis is discussed, and it is suggested that the differences in cell cycle components can best be explained by the inward migration of cortical cells from the outer compartments.

 

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