Corticosteroidogenesis in Vitro: Effects of Parathyroid Hormone, ACTH, and Calcium (41187)

Isolated rat adrenocortical cells were incubated with bovine parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the absence and presence of ACTH and CaCl₂. PTH had no effect on corticosterone production. but CaCl₂ induced steroidogenesis in the absence or presence of ACTH. Maximal corticosterone production in the absence of ACTH occurred with 1.25 mM CaCl₂ and in the presence of ACTH with 5.00 mM CaCl₂. These results show that PTH does not directly affect acute corticosterone production by isolated adrenocortical cells. They also show that ACTH raises the maximal steroidogenesis inducible by CaCl₂.