IN VITROSTUDIES AND ADRENAL STER01D0GENESLS BY THE GOLDEN HAMSTER1,2

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Abstract
No detectable amounts of steroid hormones can be recovered by direct extraction of hamster adrenal tissue or after incubation of adrenal slices in Krebs-Ringer Bicarbonate medium. Adrenal slices or cell-free homogenate preparations can, however, readily convert various steroid precursors to hydrocortisone (Cpd. F), cortisone (Cpd. E), corticosterone (Cpd. B), dehydrocorticosterone (Cpd. A) 17-hydroxy-11-desoxycorticosterone (Subst.) and at least three other unknown alpha ketols. It was demonstrated that hamster adrenal glands contain the 3[beta]-ol dehydrogenease system, the C-11[beta], C-17 and C-21 hydroxylase enzyme systems. Sodium acetate was not converted to adrenal corticoids either by incubation with adrenal slices or by incubation with cell-free homogenate preparations. On the other hand, sodium acetate-1-C14 was readily converted to radioactive Cpd. F in vivo, thus demonstrating that the hamster can incorporate acetate into corticoids. A cell-free homogenate preparation with added cofactors was able to convert cholesterol-4-C14 to radioactive Cpds. F, E, B and A. Adrenal slices (whole cell preparations) were unable to accomplish this conversion. Likewise, it has not been possible to demonstrate the in vivo conversion of infused cholesterol-4-C14 to radioactive Cpd. F. These findings suggest that the conversion of cholesterol to corticoids depends upon the permeability to the cholesterol, i.e., the availability of the substrate to be acted upon. Evidence from these experiments suggests that cholesterol may not be a normal adrenal corticoid precursor in the hamster.