COMPARISON OF THE INFLUENCES OF ADRENOCORTICAL HORMONES ON THE GROWTH AND INVOLUTION OF LYMPHATIC ORGANS1,2,3

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The effects of several adrenocortical steroids on the growth and acute involution of lymphatic organs of adrenalectomized mice were compared. The thymus was the most sensitive of lymphatic organs to the involutionary effects of Compounds F, E, B and A. The response lines had highly significant slopes, high precision and were parallel, but differed significantly in position. The estimated ratios of potency, as estimated from the thymo-regressive lines, were as follows F/E=2.8, F/B=4.1, and F/A=5.7. The involutionary responses of peripheral lymph nodes (inguinal and axillary) to these same compounds were qualitatively similar, but the slopes of the regression lines were much smaller than those of the regression lines as estimated for thymus involution. The slopes of the lines for Compounds E, B and A were all within range of each other, but that of Compound F was significantly greater. Substance S did not induce alterations in wt. of any of the lymphatic organs. Substance L produces a small, although not statistically significant growth of the thymus and lymph nodes. A significant growth of both organs was obtained with desoxycorticosterone glucoside. The structural activity relationships for the growth promoting and involutionary effects of the adrenocortical hormones investigated were established.