Summary
In the adrenal cortex of 23-to 27-day-old C3H/Tw female mice, the eosinophilic X-zone became increasingly undetectable after 3 injections of 100 μg testosterone propionate (TP). Whorls of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (sER) and peculiar complexes of mitochondria and sER, characteristics of X-zone cell, were no longer present in mice given 7 daily injections of TP. The ordinary mitochondria, although reduced in number, became swollen and actually increased in percent area occupied. They had well-developed tubulovesicular cristae. The lipid droplets increased in size and number after 3 daily TP injections, but decreased after 7 daily injections. Rough endoplasmic reticulum and sER were reduced in area in mice receiving 7 daily injections. The X-zone also became indistinguishable from the zona fasciculata after 7 daily injections of 5α-dihydrotestosterone propionate. Injections of progesterone or estradiol-17β had no effect on the X-zone.
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Supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan to Professor Takasugi
The authors are grateful to Professor H.A. Bern (University of California, Berkeley) for his critical reading of the manuscript and to Professor N. Takasugi (Okayama University) for his constant encouragement and guidance
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Tomooka, Y., Yasui, T. Electron microscopic study of the response of the adrenocortical X-zone in mice treated with sex steroids. Cell Tissue Res. 194, 269–277 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00220393
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00220393