Effects of stress and betamethasone on the production of corticosterone by the rat adrenal gland in vitro

Abstract

Summary1. Production of corticosterone in vitro was studied using adrenal glands from rats which had been subjected to stress or treated with betamethasone.2. An increase in corticosterone production occurred in the first but not the second hour of incubation in adrenals removed immediately after stress. When the interval between stress and adrenalectomy was longer, the increased corticosterone production persisted. 3. Betamethasone had no effect on corticosteroidogenesis in vitro when added directly to the incubation medium or when administered to rats shortly before removal of their adrenal glands. 4. Corticosteroidogenesis in vitro was considerably reduced in the adrenals of rats given prolonged treatment with betamethasone. 5. The significance of the results and the reliability of in vitro corticosteroid production as an index of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity is discussed.

Luffa operculata (L.) Cogn. Gestational Exposition Induces Anxiety-like Behavior and Interferes with Melatonin and Inflammation in Young Female Rats

“…Corticosterone is long known to be produced in the cortex of the adrenal glands in response to a stressor activity or stressful condition. [43,44] Also, corticosterone synthesis can be stimulated by ACTH via the melanocortin-2-receptor, or MC2. [45] Present findings show that corticosterone concentration in the SCG group was not elevated as was in the SEG, indicating that the animals that were gestationally exposed to EBN and the stress challenge showed more predisposition to an anxiety-like state induced by stress, which is also supported by the elevated blood concentration of ACTH in the same group of animals.…”