THE EFFECT OF CORTISONE ALCOHOL AND ACTH (ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIC HORMONE) ON SKIN HOMOGRAFTS IN THE GUINEA-PIG

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Abstract
SUMMARY: 1. Subcutaneous injection twice daily of 5 mg of cortisone alcohol is as effective in prolonging the life of skin homografts in the guinea-pig as the daily administration of 25 mg of cortisone acetate, under the conditions of administration. 2. A preparation equivalent to 12·5 mg of ACTH (Armour), when given daily subcutaneously in a slow-release medium (beeswax and arachis oil), gave a prolongation of epithelial survival not less than that obtained with cortisone. 3. The course of the homograft reaction in guinea-pigs treated with cortisone alcohol, and in some of those receiving ACTH, was not exactly the same as that produced bycortisone acetate. There was a strong inflammatory reaction in the grafts at an early stage, while the graft epithelium showed vigorous proliferative activity. The grafts on other animals receiving ACTH showed delayed vascularization and leucocytic infiltration with relative quiescence of the epithelium in the early stages. Nevertheless, the general course of the reaction in both cases was of a prolonged vacillating type. 4. It is suggested that large supplementary doses of cortisone are required to produce an appreciable prolongation in the survival time of skin homografts in guinea-pigs, because their normal output of 'glucocorticoids' is high and their tissues are relatively insensitive. The efficacy of ACTH in the guinea-pig as compared with other animals, e.g. the rabbit, is at present unexplained.