This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mitani, F. Articles by Ishimura, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mitani, F. Articles by Ishimura, Y.

Development of Functional Zonation in the Rat Adrenal Cortex¹

Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Keio University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Fumiko Mitani, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan 160-8582. E-mail: fmitani{at}med.keio.ac.jp

In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism(s) through which the functional adrenal cortex is established, we analyzed immunohistochemically the expression of various markers for the adrenocortical zones, i.e. the zona glomerulosa (zG), the zona fasciculata (zF), and the zona reticularis (zR), as well as markers for the medulla, and further examined the distribution and behavior of DNA-synthesizing cells in rat adrenal glands during development. The results showed that 1) separation of the cortex and medulla, and the development of functional zonation in the cortex began at around the time of birth, 2) at fetal stages when cortical zonation was not established, DNA-synthesizing cells were found scattered throughout the gland, where they proliferated without significant migration, and 3) after birth in the adrenal cortex with established cortical zonation, DNA-synthesizing cells were localized near the undifferentiated zone between zG and zF, and then they migrated centripetally. Cell death appeared to occur in the innermost portion of the cortex, where many resident macrophages are present. These findings illustrate basic processes underlying adrenal development and suggest that the undifferentiated region is apparently the stem cell zone of the adrenal cortex that maintains the cortical zonation.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. A Noon, A. Bakmanidis, A. J L Clark, P. J O'Shaughnessy, and P. J King Identification of a novel melanocortin 2 receptor splice variant in murine adipocytes: implications for post-transcriptional control of expression during adipogenesis J. Mol. Endocrinol., December 1, 2006; 37(3): 415 - 420. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H McNeill, E Whitworth, G P Vinson, and J P Hinson Distribution of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 in the rat adrenal and their activation by angiotensin II J. Endocrinol., October 1, 2005; 187(1): 149 - 157. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Ahmad, D. G. Romero, E. P. Gomez-Sanchez, and C. E. Gomez-Sanchez Do Human Vascular Endothelial Cells Produce Aldosterone? Endocrinology, August 1, 2004; 145(8): 3626 - 3629. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Virtanen, M. Korhonen, N. Petajaniemi, T. Karhunen, L.-E. Thornell, L. M. Sorokin, and Y. T. Konttinen Laminin Isoforms in Fetal and Adult Human Adrenal Cortex J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., October 1, 2003; 88(10): 4960 - 4966. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Ratcliffe, M. Nakanishi, and R. B. Jaffe Identification of Definitive and Fetal Zone Markers in the Human Fetal Adrenal Gland Reveals Putative Developmental Genes J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., July 1, 2003; 88(7): 3272 - 3277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Mukai, F. Mitani, H. Nagasawa, R. Suzuki, T. Suzuki, M. Suematsu, and Y. Ishimura An Inverse Correlation between Expression of a Preprocathepsin B-related Protein with Cysteine-rich Sequences and Steroid 11beta -Hydroxylase in Adrenocortical Cells J. Biol. Chem., May 2, 2003; 278(19): 17084 - 17092. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Beuschlein, C. Mutch, D. L. Bavers, Y. M. Ulrich-Lai, W. C. Engeland, C. Keegan, and G. D. Hammer Steroidogenic Factor-1 Is Essential for Compensatory Adrenal Growth Following Unilateral Adrenalectomy Endocrinology, August 1, 2002; 143(8): 3122 - 3135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Raff, E. D. Bruder, B. M. Jankowski, and T. L. Goodfriend Neonatal hypoxic hyperlipidemia in the rat: effects on aldosterone and corticosterone synthesis in vitro Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, March 1, 2000; 278(3): R663 - R668. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]