The role of glucocorticoids released in response to stress in the pathogenesis of stress-induced gastric erosions has been reevaluated. Gastric erosions elicited in male rats by 3-h cold-restraint or water-restraint stresses were studied after acute reduction of corticosterone release or occupation of glucocorticoid receptors by the antagonist RU-38486 during stress. Stress-induced corticostero...

We previously showed that selective mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blockade by eplerenone is cardioprotective in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats. To clarify the consequences of glucocorticoid-mediated MR activation in these animals, we investigated the effects of exogenous corticosterone on blood pressure as well as cardiac remodeling and function after adrenalectomy. DS rats were subjected to a...

Stress-induced increases in neonatal corticosterone demonstrate a unique shift from ACTH independence to ACTH dependence between postnatal day 2 (PD2) and day 8 (PD8) in newborn rats. This shift could be due to the binding of a bioactive, non--immunoreactive plasma ligand to the adrenocortical melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R) (ACTH receptor). A potent MC2R antagonist would be useful to evaluate t...

Very small amounts of adrenocorticosteroids are synthesized by brain tissue in vitro. While there is evidence suggesting that the synthesis of aldosterone in the brain may have a role in the hypertension of the Dahl salt-sensitive rat, the de novo synthesis of aldosterone or corticosterone within the brain of a living animal has not been demonstrated. We have used sensitive ELISAs to measure al...

Deficiencies in the conversion between active and inactive glucocorticoids in the kidney can lead to hypertension. However, the significance of glucocorticoid metabolism in specific kidney regions in vivo is not clear, possibly in part due to the difficulty in measuring glucocorticoid levels in kidney regions in vivo. We used microdialysis techniques to sample renal interstitial fluid from cons...

11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD-1) intracellularly regenerates active corticosterone from circulating inert 11-dehydrocorticosterone (11-DHC) in specific tissues. The hippocampus is a brain structure particularly vulnerable to glucocorticoid neurotoxicity with aging. In intact hippocampal cells in culture, 11beta-HSD-1 acts as a functional 11beta-reductase reactivating in...

A sensitive protein-binding assay has been used to measure plasma concentrations of total corticosterone during postnatal development in the rat. These concentrations were extremely low on days 6--12, showed a significant rise by day 14, and then continued to rise until peaking on day 24. Plasma titers of corticosteroid-binding globulin rose even more dramatically from day 12 onward. Consequent...

Acute infection is accompanied by a characteristic reduction in circulating eosinophils. This study examined the generally held assumption that the eosinopenia of infection is a manifestation of adrenal stimulation. Trichinosis, Escherichia coli pyelonephritis, and early subcutaneous pneumococcal abscess were used as experimental infections of limited severity. Trichinosis is associated with eo...

Mice are used extensively in physiological research. Automated home-cage systems have been developed to study single-housed animals. Increased stress by different housing conditions might affect greatly the results when investigating metabolic responses. Urinary corticosteroid concentration is considered as a stress marker. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of different housing co...

Although the testosterone receptor antagonist flutamide restores the depressed immune function in males after trauma and hemorrhage, it remains unknown whether this agent has any salutary effects on adrenal function. To study this, male rats underwent laparotomy and were bled to and maintained at a blood pressure of 40 mmHg until 40% of the shed blood volume was returned in the form of Ringer l...