THE RAPIDITY OF THE ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC RESPONSE OF THE PITUITARY TO THE INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION OF HISTAMINE123

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Abstract
IT HAS been demonstrated repeatedly (Sayers, 1950) that under certain conditions, denoted “stressful,” the pituitary store of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) becomes depleted, the ascorbic acid and cholesterol concentrations in the adrenal are decreased, increased amounts of adrenal cortical steroids are liberated, and the adrenal cortex increases in weight; thus indicating that increased amounts of ACTH have been delivered into the blood stream. Nevertheless, attempts even to detect, much less quantitate, ACTH in the blood under any circumstance by administration of serum to hypophysectomized rats have, with two possible exceptions (Cooke, Graetzer, and Reiss, 1948; Taylor, Albert, and Sprague, 1949), been unsuccessful. It would be fruitless to attempt to assay the ACTH concentration in blood under basal conditions until its presence had first been demonstrated unequivocally under conditions of stress. Although the larger amounts presumably released into the circulation at this time should simplify the analytical problem, other difficulties remain.