Endocrine Abstracts

The human foetal adrenal gland (HFA) comprises of two distinct zones; the foetal zone (FZ) and the definitive zone (DZ). The subcapsular DZ has been proposed to contain a population of adrenocortical progenitors that migrate centripetally to populate the FZ. Rodent studies have identified sonic hedgehog (SHH) signalling in a subcapsular non-steroidogenic progenitor population and its disruption during development causes adrenal hypoplasia. The involvement of SHH in the human f...