Summary
The secondary X zone induced by castration in the adrenal cortex of adult male mice was examined by electron microscopy and radioautography with 3H-thymidine. 10–15 days after castration a thin layer of small eosinophilic cells is formed in the inner-most cortex. Such eosinophilic cells contain irregulary shaped nuclei and spherical or ellipsoidal mitochondria with tubulolamellar cristae, 20–25 days after castration a prominent zone of small eosinophilic cells was clearly identified as the secondary X zone. The typical secondary X zone cells were characterized by the formation of peculiar mitochondrial complexes and whorled sER. The X zone cells with their characteristic organelles incorporated 3H-thymidine. The ultrastructure and formation of the secondary X zone were very similar to those of the primary X zone which appears during normal postnatal development. We demonstrate here the capacity of reticularis cells of adult male mice to transform into typical X zone cells following castration.
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The authors wish to thank Prof's. J. Nakai and E. Yamada for valuable discussion and Dr. K. Hirosawa for his technical guidance in electron microscopic radioautography.
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Hirokawa, N., Ishikawa, H. Electron microscopic observations on the castration-induced X zone in the adrenal cortex of male mice. Cell Tissue Res. 162, 119–130 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00223267
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00223267