Defining adrenarche in the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), a non-human primate model for adrenal androgen secretion - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

Defining adrenarche in the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), a non-human primate model for adrenal androgen secretion

A J Conley et al. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2011.

Abstract

Adrenarche, defined as a prepubertal increase in adrenal androgen secretion resulting from zona reticularis (ZR) maturation, is thought to occur only in humans and some Great Apes. In the rhesus macaque, studies of circulating dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or its sulpho-conjugate (DHEAS) have failed to demonstrate a prepubertal rise typical of human adrenarche, but available data are cross-sectional and include few neonatal or early infant samples. However, ZR maturation is complete in rhesus infants by 3 months of age based on morphological and biochemical analyses. Furthermore, preliminary longitudinal studies from birth through infancy of castrated males, and intact males and females, suggests for the first time that there is a transient, prepubertal elevation of adrenal androgen in rhesus macaques. Serum DHEAS concentration increased, peaking between 6 and 8 weeks of age in castrate males, and intact males and females, then declined. These longitudinal profiles add endocrinological support to the morphological and biochemical evidence that adrenarche occurs in a narrow developmental window in infant rhesus macaques. Adrenarche in any species should be defined only after careful longitudinal hormone analysis have been conducted in stages of development that are suggested by morphological and biochemical evidence of ZR maturation.

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Figures

Figure 1

Morphological maturation of the adrenal glands from rhesus macaques ranging in age from one day to three months of age marked by cytochrome b5 expression. Cytochrome b5 expression (red/brown chromagen) marks the differentiating zona reticularis (ZR) which becomes better defined with age in tissue sections from 1 day old, 4, 8 and 12 week old neonatal rhesus macaques (ages shown above each panel) detected by immunohistochemistry. Note also the developing expression of cytochrome b5 (arrow) between the definitive zone (DZ) abutting the capsule and the foetal zone (FTZ) toward the medulla.. Bars = 50μm. Micrographs are reproduced from published data (Nguyen et al., 2008) with permission from the publisher.

Figure 2

Biochemical evidence of adrenarche in rhesus adrenal tissues collected from birth through one year of age. Shown are plots of 17,20-lyase enzyme activity (nmol/mg/hr; dashed line) and expression levels of cytochrome b5 (pmol/μg; solid line and symbols) in microsomal protein. Graphs are reproduced from published data (Nguyen et al., 2009) with permission from the publisher.

Figure 3

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS, ng/ml) concentrations in longitudinal samples of peripheral blood of rhesus macaques from birth through infancy. A. Two males castrated at 1 week of age and bled weekly up to 40 weeks of age. B. Two gonad-intact males bled on alternate weeks to 17 weeks of age. C. Two gonad-intact females sampled one day after birth and then at 4, 12, 24 and 36 weeks of age.

Figure 4

Schematic of adrenal androgen synthesis and secretion through foetal and early post-natal development showing contributions from the foetal zone and the developing zona reticularis representing “adrenarche” in the rhesus macaque.

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Defining adrenarche in the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), a non-human primate model for adrenal androgen secretion - PubMed (original) (raw)