Phosphorus Metabolism of the Adrenal Gland of the Rat

Acclimatization to Cold

¹ From the Department of Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada

Observations were made on the incorporation of inorganic phosphate labeled with P³² into the inorganic P, 20-minute hydrolyzable P and total acid-soluble P of the adrenal gland of rats either maintained at room temperature (22 ± 1°C) or conditioned to cold (3 ± 1°C). In confirmation of previous findings, there was an increase in the incorporation of inorganic P³² into the acid-soluble P of the adrenal of the rats maintained in the cold. Exposure to more severe cold (–5°C) for 2 hours, caused a great increase in the incorporation of inorganic P³² into the acid-soluble P of the adrenal of the nonacclimatized rats, compared to a slight, and statistically insignificant, increase in the acclimatized animals. The adrenal response to cold in the nonacclimatized rats was greatly decreased by the prior administration of cortisone.