THE EFFECT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF ESTROGENS ON THE RENIN-SUBSTRATE (HYPERTENSINOGEN) CONTENT OF RAT PLASMA

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Abstract
LEVIN (1945) pointed out that diethylstilbestrol acts as an adrenocorticotrophic substance as judged by several criteria. For instance, he found that the administration of this estrogen to rats caused a marked lowering of the cholesterol content of the adrenal glands. Since ACTH causes an elevation of the renin-substrate of the plasma of dogs (Haynes Forsham, Thorn, and Dexter, 1949) and rats (Helmer and Griffith, 1951), diethylstilbestrol was administered to rats in order to determine whether it would, like ACTH, cause an increase in the renin-substrate content of the plasma. In addition to stilbestrol, several other estrogens and stilbene compounds were studied. methods Male rats of the Long-Evans strain weighing 200 to 400 gm. were used. These included normal, adrenalectomized, and hypophysectomized groups. The compounds tested were dissolved in sesame oil and injected subcutaneously. Care of the animals, methods of obtaining plasma samples, and assay of renin-substrate have been described previously in detail (Helmer and Griffith, 1951) and are only briefly summarized here.