Summary
The drug-metabolism activity of adrenocortical cells of normal and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC)-treated ddY mice were examined ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically. Immunoblot analyses performed prior to immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of a protein — possible equivalent to cytochrome P-450 found in the liver microsomes of MC-treated male rats — in the adrenal homogenate of MC-treated female mice. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated the presence of a cytochrome-P-450-like protein in the adrenal-cortical cells (especially in the zona-reticularis cells) of MC-treated female mice; at the same time, a remarkable increase in the amount of SER in these cells was observed by electron microscopy. These findings suggest that cells of the mouse adrenal gland, particularly those of the zona-reticularis, might participate not only in steroid biosynthesis but also in some sort of drug metabolism (detoxication). In addition, there might be a sex-related difference in ddY mice.
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Usa, M., Ishimura, K., Fujita, H. et al. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies on the zona-reticularis cells of the adrenal cortex of normal and 3-methylcholanthrene-treated mice. Histochemistry 83, 207–211 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00953985
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00953985