SEX DIFFERENCES IN ADRENAL CORTICAL SECRETION IN THE RAT1
Abstract
Ether anesthesia administered as a standardized stress produced higher and more persistently elevated plasma corticosterone concentrations in female rats than in male animals. Similar effects were obtained following administration of ACTH. The biological half-life of corticosterone in female rats was found to be 13 minutes compared to 20 minutes in male animals. Female rat liver homogenates metabolized the A ring of corticosterone and that of cortisone more rapidly in vitro than did male tissue. No sex difference was observed in the rate of metabolism of the sidechain of corticosterone although male liver homogenates reduced the sidechain of cortisone more rapidly than did female tissue. The concentration of corticosterone in the adrenal vein of the female rat is 2.5 times that in the male. These findings are interpreted to signify increased sensitivity of the female adrenal gland to stimulation by ACTH. The higher plasma corticosterone levels observed after ACTH or stress in female rats are not explained by the sex differences in the rate of clearance and metabolism of the steroid. An additional possibility to be considered is that the female pituitary gland is more responsive to stress with respect to ACTH release.
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Basal and stress-induced CORT are greater in female than in male rodents.
“For instance, basal and stress-induced CORT have been shown to be greater in female than in male rodents (Critchlow, Liebelt, Bar-Sela, Mountcastle, & Lipscomb, 1963; Handa, Burgess, Kerr, & O’Keefe, 1994; Kitay, 1961).”
From Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axes: sex differences in regulation of stress responsivity (2017) · cites this paper as Kitay, 1961
Male and female rats differ in their basal concentrations of corticosterone.
“male and female rats differ in their basal concentrations of corticosterone (Kitay, 1961; Gillette et al., 2014)”
From The effects of prenatal PCBs on adult social behavior in rats (2015) · cites this paper as Kitay, 1961
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“Because it is known that male and female rats differ in their basal concentrations of corticosterone (Kitay, 1961; Gillette et al., 2014) and, further, that circulating levels of corticosterone influence social behaviors in rats (Veenit et al.”
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- Authors
- KITAY, J. I.
- Affiliations
- University of Virginia (US)
- Corresponding author
- KITAY, JULIAN I.
- Venue
- Endocrinology
- Publisher
- The Endocrine Society
- Published
- 1961-05
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 818-824
- ISSN
- 0013-7227 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-7170
- OpenAlex
- W2123367689
- Cited by
- 525
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 6.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Endocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Estrogen and related hormone effects
- Keywords
- sex differences, adrenal cortex, corticosterone, ACTH, ether anesthesia, stress response, plasma corticosterone, cortisone, adrenal vein, rats
- MeSH terms
- Adrenal Cortex, Adrenal Cortex Hormones, Animals, Sex Characteristics, Rats
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