Mineralocorticoid bioassay on adrenal venous plasma from regenerating adrenals

¹ Penrose Research Laboratory, Zoological Society of Philadelphia, and Department of Pathology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The mineralocorticoid activity of the mixture of steroids obtained by pooling chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts of adrenal venous plasma from regenerating or intact rat adrenal glands was bioassayed by use of the urinary Na/K ratio as a response. In rats drinking either tap water or 1% saline, the mineralocorticoid production per rat was less in animals with adrenal regeneration than in controls. These results are taken as evidence against the idea that adrenal regeneration hypertension results from production of excess mineralocorticoid activity arising either from unknown steroids, unusual ratios of steroids, or high mineralocorticoid production relative to the sodium intake.

Key Words: adrenal regeneration hypertension • adrenal blood flow

Submitted on April 8, 1964