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pubmed:abstractText |
The effects of neurotensin (NT) and ACTH on the dexamethasone (Dx)-induced atrophy of the rat adrenal cortex (120 micrograms Dx/rat/day for 4 days) were investigated. NT at a dose of 8 micrograms/rat/day for 2 days prevented Dx-induced adrenal atrophy, and a similar effect was exerted by 10 micrograms/rat/day of ACTH for 2 days. Lower doses of NT were ineffective. ACTH markedly enhanced 3H-thymidine incorporation by adrenal slices, while NT did not. Neither ACTH nor NT had any effect on the number of metaphases per section of the adrenal gland. These findings indicate that NT, like ACTH, prevents Dx-induced adrenocortical atrophy, and that this effect does not depend, as does that of ACTH, upon the stimulation of proliferation of adrenocortical cells.
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