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THE EFFECT OF SEROTONIN AND POTASSIUM ON CORTICOSTERONE AND ALDOSTERONE PRODUCTION BY ISOLATED ZONA GLOMERULOSA CELLS OF THE RAT ADRENAL CORTEX
Author(s) -
Tait Sylvia AS,
Tait JF,
Bradley JES
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1972.81
Subject(s) - corticosterone , aldosterone , zona glomerulosa , endocrinology , medicine , serotonin , chemistry , adrenal cortex , incubation , steroid , biology , hormone , angiotensin ii , receptor , biochemistry , blood pressure
Summary The effects of serotonin (10 −8 −10 −4 M) and of changes in potassium concentration (2 to 13 mM), singly and in combination, on steroid output in vitro by isolated cells, have been examined. These cells were mainly zona glomerulosa, prepared from capsules of the rat adrenal. Corticosterone and aldosterone were estimated by a simple and rapid radio‐immunoassay procedure using antibodies developed against these two steroids. It was found possible to measure both steroids in the unchromatographed extract of the incubation medium by adding 4‐ 14 C corticosterone and 3 H aldosterone as recover indicators. The results showed that corticosterone and aldosterone outputs increased with increasing doses of serotonin to a constant maximum output at about 10 −6 M. The outputs of both steroids increased with the concentration of [K+] from 2 mM (the lowest concentration tested) to reach a maximum at 8·4 mM and then declined. The addition of 10 −4 M serotonin at different [K+] concentrations further increased the outputs of both steroids to reach a maximum at 5·9 mM [K+]. Addition of serotonin bad little or no effect at 8·4 and 13 nM [K+]. However, it was found that corticosterone and aldosterone production were consistently higher at 5·9 mM [K+] plus serotonin than at 8·4 mM [K+] without serotonin. One possible interpretation is that at low [K+] concentrations, both [K+] and serotonin act to stimulate steroid output, possibly by the same mechanism. However. [K+] inhibits at high concentrations whereas serotonin does not.