| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Biology of Reproduction, Vol 25, 1079-1089, Copyright © 1981 by Society for the Study of Reproduction
1 Laboratory of Pathology and Division of Perinatal Physiology,
Oregon Regional Primate Research Center,
Beaverton, Oregon 97006 The inner four-fifths of the fetal and newborn adrenal cortex in Macaca mulatta morphologically resembles the human adrenal fetal zone. The human adrenal fetal zone is thought to undergo a dramatic collapse in the early postpartum period, whereas the inner zone of the rhesus fetal
adrenal is slowly remodeled into definitive cortex. This remodeling is accompanied by a loss of
one-third of the weight of the adrenals in the first 2 weeks postpartum and then by weight constancy for 6 months, after which growth is resumed. Near parturition, groups of small cells with
little cytoplasm appear in the outermost rhesus fetal zone. In the early postpartum period, these
groups coalesce into a "dense band" beneath the glomerulosa. This band is found progressively
nearer the medulla during the early months of postnatal life, and the zona fasciculata appears
peripheral to it. The cortical cells central to this band retain their fetal pattern; remnants of the
fetal zone are still visible adjacent to the medulla 6 months after birth. Fetal hypophysectomy (decapitation) at midgestation or chronic administration of dexamethasone to the mother for several weeks during the third trimester caused hypoplasia of the fetal
zone and precocious formation of a dense band and a zona fasciculata. Continuous infusion of
ACTH into two fetuses resulted in hypertrophy of the fetal zone. Fetal adrenal weights were
increased by ACTH (943 and 1149 mg, compared with 298 ± 27 mg for controls), but they were
decreased by fetal decapitation or dexamethasone (46 ± 4 mg and 87 ± 13 mg, respectively). Thus,
there is concordance between the histologically assessed magnitude of the fetal zone and the
previously shown extent of fetal production of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and androstenedione, which are substrates for estrogen biosynthesis by the placenta. These data indicate that 1) the fetal zone is present until birth in M. mulatta, and it disappears
slowly after birth, with no massive necrosis; and 2) the maintenance of fetal conformation of the
adrenal glands depends on a functioning fetal pituitary gland. Normal evolution from a fetal to
adult anatomical structure may be the consequence of a decreased circulating level of ACTH or a
changing mode of response of the inner-zone cells to the trophic hormone.
Note:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Verna Russell and Helmy Hawash for
their excellent technical assistance.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. D Nguyen, S. M Mapes, C J. Corbin, and A. J Conley Morphological adrenarche in rhesus macaques: development of the zona reticularis is concurrent with fetal zone regression in the early neonatal period J. Endocrinol., December 1, 2008; 199(3): 367 - 378. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. D. Albrecht, G. W. Aberdeen, and G. J. Pepe Estrogen Elicits Cortical Zone-Specific Effects on Development of the Primate Fetal Adrenal Gland Endocrinology, April 1, 2005; 146(4): 1737 - 1744. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Torres-Farfan, H. G. Richter, A. M. Germain, G. J. Valenzuela, C. Campino, P. Rojas-Garcia, M. L. Forcelledo, F. Torrealba, and M. Seron-Ferre Maternal melatonin selectively inhibits cortisol production in the primate fetal adrenal gland J. Physiol., February 1, 2004; 554(3): 841 - 856. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Mapes, A. F. Tarantal, C. R. Parker, F. M. Moran, J. M. Bahr, L. Pyter, and A. J. Conley Adrenocortical Cytochrome b5 Expression during Fetal Development of the Rhesus Macaque Endocrinology, April 1, 2002; 143(4): 1451 - 1458. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. J. Ginther, A. A. Carlson, T. E. Ziegler, and C. T. Snowdon Neonatal and Pubertal Development in Males of a Cooperatively Breeding Primate, the Cotton-Top Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus oedipus) Biol Reprod, February 1, 2002; 66(2): 282 - 290. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. G. Leavitt, E. D. Albrecht, and G. J. Pepe Development of the Baboon Fetal Adrenal Gland: Regulation of the Ontogenesis of the Definitive and Transitional Zones by Adrenocorticotropin J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., October 1, 1999; 84(10): 3831 - 3835. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Zhang, T. Hatta, J. Udagawa, K. Moriyama, R. Hashimoto, and H. Otani Induction of Ectopic Corticotropic Tumor in Mouse Embryos by Exo Utero Cell Transplantation and Its Effects on the Fetal Adrenal Gland Endocrinology, July 1, 1998; 139(7): 3306 - 3315. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. W. Aberdeen, M. G. Leavitt, G. J. Pepe, and E. D. Albrecht Effect of Maternal Betamethasone Administration at Midgestation on Baboon Fetal Adrenal Gland Development and Adrenocorticotropin Receptor Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 1998; 83(3): 976 - 982. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. G. Leavitt, G. W. Aberdeen, M. G. Burch, E. D. Albrecht, and G. J. Pepe Inhibition of Fetal Adrenal Adrenocorticotropin Receptor Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression by Betamethasone Administration to the Baboon Fetus in Late Gestation Endocrinology, July 1, 1997; 138(7): 2705 - 2712. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
