A. Aitchaoui et al., AGE-RELATED-CHANGES IN PLASMA-CORTICOSTERONE AND ALDOSTERONE RESPONSES TO EXOGENOUS ACTH IN THE RAT, Hormone research, 43(5), 1995, pp. 181-187
Age related changes in the time courses of response of plasma corticos
terone and aldosterone to exogenously applied ACTH were simultaneously
studied in old (female and male) Long-Evans rats and compared to both
young and adult pentobarbitone-anesthetized and dexamethasone-pretrea
ted control rats. Acute intravenous injection of either 0.5 or 50.0 ng
ACTH (1-24)/100 g body weight increased plasma concentrations of the
two steroids with a similar time course in all groups of rats. However
, we observed a significant age-related attenuation in the plasma cort
icosteroid response. Thus, in old as compared to young rats there was
a decrease of approximately 45, 40 and 30% in plasma corticosterone le
vels respectively 8 min after the lower dose of ACTH in female and 45
min after the higher dose in female and male rats. Similarly, an atten
uated (approximately -38%) response of plasma aldosterone levels, indu
ced 45 min after the higher dose of ACTH, was observed both in old fem
ale and male rats. These results suggest that the previously reported
age related decreases of in vivo corticosterone and aldosterone secret
ion are, at least in part, due to a reduced capacity of adrenocortical
cells for steroid biosynthesis and release in response to stimulation
by ACTH.