The transient cortical zone in the adrenal gland: the mystery of the adrenal X-zone

Huang, Chen-Che Jeff; Kang, Yuan

doi:10.1530/joe-18-0632

Cited by 37 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…Finally, the presence of a histologically defined area between the zona fasciculata and the medulla, termed the X-zone, is an important factor that differentiates male and female adrenal cortex in mice. The X-zone is a remnant of the fetal adrenal cortex that regresses after puberty in males but is retained in females until gestation [ 35 ].…”

Section: Sexual Dimorphism In the Adrenal Cortexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to wild-type males, adrenals from male Ar knockout (KO) animals are hypertrophic, as was shown in the previous study, and there is a tendency for higher circulating corticosterone in ageing animals [ 51 ]. The observed hypertrophy is likely due to the abnormal retention of the X-zone [ 75 ], a transient remnant of the fetal cortex that regresses during puberty in males and gestation in females [ 35 ].…”

Section: Impact Of Gonadal Steroid Signaling In the Adrenal Cortexmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Sexually Dimorphic Adrenal Cortex: Implications for Adrenal Disease

Lyraki

Schedl

2021

IJMS

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Many adrenocortical diseases are more prevalent in women than in men, but the reasons underlying this sex bias are still unknown. Recent studies involving gonadectomy and sex hormone replacement experiments in mice have shed some light onto the molecular basis of sexual dimorphism in the adrenal cortex. Indeed, it has been shown that gonadal hormones influence many aspects of adrenal physiology, ranging from stem cell-dependent tissue turnover to steroidogenesis and X-zone dynamics. This article reviews current knowledge on adrenal cortex sexual dimorphism and the potential mechanisms underlying sex hormone influence of adrenal homeostasis. Both topics are expected to contribute to personalized and novel therapeutic approaches in the future.

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Section: Sexual Dimorphism In the Adrenal Cortexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impact Of Gonadal Steroid Signaling In the Adrenal Cortexmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sexually Dimorphic Adrenal Cortex: Implications for Adrenal Disease

Lyraki

Schedl

2021

IJMS

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“…A number of authors (Freedman et al, 2013;Pihlajoki et al, 2015) state that the cells of the zona glomerulosa can change and become cells of zona fasciculata. The zona reticularis is considered a derivative of the juxtamedullary zone (homologue of the fetal cortex of mammals and X-zone of mice) and differentiates during the postnatal period (Sedova, 1974;Huang & Kang, 2019). However, Vidal et al (2016) indicate that this zone forms in people, but is absent in rodents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peculiarities of microstructure of the suprarenal glands of rabbits with different types of autonomic tone

Zakrevska

Tybinka

2019

Regul. Mech. Biosyst.

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The article investigates the structure of the suprarenal (adrenal) glands of male rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), in which, on the basis of electrocardiographic and variational-pulsometric studies, different types of autonomic tone were observed. This allowed the animals to be divided into three groups: 1) sympathicotonic rabbits; 2) normotonic rabbits; 3) parasympathicotonic rabbits. The animals of the first two groups were characterized by almost the same body weight, while weight of the rabbits of the third group was slightly higher. After euthanasia, the suprarenal glands were extracted for histological and histochemical analyses. Morphometric study of histopreparations revealed that in the normotonic rabbits the thickness of the zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata of the suprarenal glands were of average sizes, and the area of the medulla was the smallest. The parasympathicotonic rabbits had the thickest zona glomerulosa and greatest area of the medulla, but the thinnest zona fasciculata. The sympathicotonic rabbits were observed to have the greatest thickness of the zona fasciculata of the suprarenal glands, the area of the medulla was of average values, and the thickness of the zona glumerulosa was of minimum value. The type of autonomic tone also manifests in the saturation of each of the zones with cells. The normotonic rabbits were observed to have the highest number of cells per area of 1,000 µm² in the zona fasciculata and the medulla, sympathicotonic rabbits – in the zona glomerulosa and zona reticularis, and in parasympathicotonic rabbits this parameter had average or lowest values in all the zones. The sizes of cells and their structural parts were characterized on the basis of nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio. In the zona fasciculata and medulla this parameter was highest among parasympathicotonic rabbits, and lowest in sympathicotonic rabbits. In the zona glomerulosa, almost equal values were observed in the normotonic and parasympathicotonic rabbits, while being reliably lower in sympathicotonic rabbits. By the value of nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio in the zona reticularis, the normotonic rabbits dominated, followed by the sympathicotonic animals, and the parasympathicotonic rabbits had the lowest parameters.

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“…During fetal development, DHEA and DHEAS (henceforth, referred to as DHEA[S]) are synthesized in the fetal zone of the adrenal gland, the largest area of the fetal adrenal gland, which contains all of the necessary enzymes required for C 19 steroid production [ 19 ]. Postnatally, the fetal zone undergoes apoptosis and inversion before developing into the mature ZR of the adult adrenal gland [ 20 ]. The key steps in the steroidogenic pathway for the synthesis of DHEA are shown in Figure 1 .…”

Section: Production Of Dheamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the adrenal cortex, DHEA synthesis occurs in neural tissue in some species [ 20 , 27 ]. However, the relationship between the adrenal and brain synthesis of DHEA is relatively unexamined, and raises the interesting question—does the maturational drive that increases adrenal DHEA synthesis also apply to the central nervous system (CNS)?…”

Section: Why Is This Important?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Enigma of the Adrenarche: Identifying the Early Life Mechanisms and Possible Role in Postnatal Brain Development

Cumberland

Hirst

Badoer

et al. 2021

IJMS

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Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated metabolite (DHEAS) are dynamically regulated before birth and the onset of puberty. Yet, the origins and purpose of increasing DHEA[S] in postnatal development remain elusive. Here, we draw attention to this pre-pubertal surge from the adrenal gland—the adrenarche—and discuss whether this is the result of intra-adrenal gene expression specifically affecting the zona reticularis (ZR), if the ZR is influenced by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, and the possible role of spino-sympathetic innervation in prompting increased ZR activity. We also discuss whether neural DHEA[S] synthesis is coordinately regulated with the developing adrenal gland. We propose that DHEA[S] is crucial in the brain maturation of humans prior to and during puberty, and suggest that the function of the adrenarche is to modulate, adapt and rewire the pre-adolescent brain for new and ever-changing social challenges. The etiology of DHEA[S] synthesis, neurodevelopment and recently described 11-keto and 11-oxygenated androgens are difficult to investigate in humans owing to: (i) ethical restrictions on mechanistic studies, (ii) the inability to predict which individuals will develop specific mental characteristics, and (iii) the difficulty of conducting retrospective studies based on perinatal complications. We discuss new opportunities for animal studies to overcome these important issues.

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The transient cortical zone in the adrenal gland: the mystery of the adrenal X-zone

Cited by 37 publications

References 111 publications

The Sexually Dimorphic Adrenal Cortex: Implications for Adrenal Disease

The Sexually Dimorphic Adrenal Cortex: Implications for Adrenal Disease

Peculiarities of microstructure of the suprarenal glands of rabbits with different types of autonomic tone

The Enigma of the Adrenarche: Identifying the Early Life Mechanisms and Possible Role in Postnatal Brain Development

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