Summary
Adult male rats were given doses of 5 mg- and 10 mg/kg of reserpine. Other rats were subjected to denervation of the left adrenal gland and administered the same doses of reserpine. These four groups of animals were compared with normal uninjected controls and uninjected animals with denervated left adrenal glands. Adrenal glands were analyzed quantitatively for norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) and histochemically for NE, E, adenosinemonophosphatase (AMPase) and adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase). Results clearly show that reserpine injection induces catecholamine (CAM) loss from adrenomedullary tissue and concomitantly produces a decrease in AMPase and a marked increase in ATPase activity. All alterations are dose related. Denervation alone has little or no effect on adrenomedullary CAMs or nucleotidases; however, it does block a major portion of the effect of reserpine. From these results it is concluded that a portion of CAM release from the adrenal medulla is mediated through the nervous system and this release is related to ATPase activity. A further mechanism of CAM release is beyond neurogenic control and may or may not be ATPase related.
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This investigation was supported by HEW Grant NS 06980 and USPHS Grant NB 05093.
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Wood, J.G., Benjamin, C.P. & Bogy, A. Denervation and/or reserpine-induced changes in adrenomedullary catecholamines and nucleotidases. Z. Zellforsch. 111, 539–549 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330930
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330930