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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 293/1/E139    most recent 00705.2006v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bielohuby, M. Articles by Hoeflich, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bielohuby, M. Articles by Hoeflich, A.

Growth analysis of the mouse adrenal gland from weaning to adulthood: time- and gender-dependent alterations of cell size and number in the cortical compartment

¹Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology and ²Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich; ³Steroid Laboratory of the Department of Pharmacology, University Heidelberg, Heidelberg; ⁴Division of Endocrine Research, Department of Medicine Innenstadt, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich; and ⁵Laboratory of Mouse Genetics, Research Unit Genetics and Biometry, Research Institute for the Biology of Farm Animals, Dummerstorf, Germany

Submitted 21 December 2006 ; accepted in final form 14 March 2007

The adrenal gland is of critical importance for a plethora of biological processes. We performed the first systematic analysis of adrenal gland growth using unbiased stereological methods in male and female mice from weaning to adulthood (weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11) at the organ, compartment, and cellular levels. Adrenal weights increased from week 3 to week 7 in male and female mice, remained at this level in females, but decreased by 25% between week 7 and week 9 in males. Female adrenal glands displayed a higher weight at any stage investigated. The volume of the zona fasciculata was consistently higher in female vs. male mice. In both genders, the number of zona fasciculata cells reached a maximum at the age of 7 wk and decreased significantly until week 9. Serum corticosterone concentrations decreased from 3 to 11 wk of age both in male and female mice. However, the estimated total amounts of corticosterone in the circulation were similar in 3- and 11-wk-old mice. Furthermore, total circulating corticosterone was higher in females than in males at an age of 5 and 11 wk. In the zona glomerulosa and in the X-zone, time- and gender-dependent growth effects were observed. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that growth and function of the adrenal glands are markedly influenced by gender and age. These factors require careful consideration in studies aiming at the functional dissection of genetic and environmental factors affecting adrenal growth and function.

adrenal gland; mouse; adrenal cortex; adrenal medulla; adrenal zones; dissector; stereology; corticosterone

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