HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: JOE-08-0337v1 JOE-08-0337v2 199/3/367    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in 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 Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nguyen, A. D Articles by Conley, A. J Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nguyen, A. D Articles by Conley, A. J

Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA

(Correspondence should be addressed to A J Conley; Email: ajconley{at}ucdavis.edu)

Human adrenarche is associated with the establishment of a functional zona reticularis (ZR) and increasing secretion of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in sulfated form (DS). Like most non-human primates, rhesus macaques are not believed to undergo adrenarche, though they clearly establish a functional ZR after birth. However, the origins of the rhesus ZR are not well defined. Therefore, we investigated the zonal development, steroidogenic enzyme expression and morphology of rhesus adrenals from 1 day to 14 months of age. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to determine expression profiles of the steroidogenic enzymes 17-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase cytochrome P450, family 17, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP17A1), cytochrome P450, family 21, subfamily A, polypeptide 2 (CYP21A2), hydroxy--5-steroid dehydrogenase, 3β- and steroid -isomerase 2 (HSD3B2), the redox partner NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (CPR), as well as the accessory protein cytochrome b5 (b5), a marker of the primate ZR. The rhesus ZR is mature by 3 months of age based on differentiation of the innermost zone that lacks HSD3B2, but exhibits increased b5 expression during this period. Further, the ZR develops in neonates from a previously described dense band of cells which we show expresses b5, CYP17A1, CPR, and CYP21A2 throughout maturation. The fetal zone (FZ) is distinguished from the ZR by its lack of CYP21A2, and ZR development proceeded as the FZ regressed with two important implications: neither FZ regression nor ZR maturation can be monitored independently by circulating adrenal androgens, and these events must be induced by different factors in rhesus, and likely humans. Collectively these data demonstrate that ZR development begins before birth in the rhesus, proceeding concomitantly with FZ regression post-natally, suggesting that rhesus experiences morphological adrenarche during the first three months of life.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J C. Pattison, D. H Abbott, W. Saltzman, A. J Conley, and I. M Bird Plasticity of the zona reticularis in the adult marmoset adrenal cortex: voyages of discovery in the New World J. Endocrinol., December 1, 2009; 203(3): 313 - 326. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. D. Nguyen, C. J. Corbin, J. C. Pattison, I. M. Bird, and A. J. Conley The Developmental Increase in Adrenocortical 17,20-Lyase Activity (Biochemical Adrenarche) Is Driven Primarily by Increasing Cytochrome b5 in Neonatal Rhesus Macaques Endocrinology, April 1, 2009; 150(4): 1748 - 1756. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]