Endocrine Abstracts

In adult mice the adrenal cortex is divided, in two distinct functional zones, outermost zona glomerulosa (ZG) and innermost zona fasciculata (ZF), encapsulated by a thin layer of mesenchymal cells (capsule). The adrenal cortex undergoes constant centripetal cell renewal, reliying on recruitment of progenitors located within an outer cortex niche. Progenitors initially differentiate as ZG cells and undergo lineage conversion to ZF as they move within the cortex. This relies on...

Klotho (Kl), initially identified as an antiaging gene, plays a critical role in the regulation of renal and adrenal dependent fluid homeostasis. A previous study reported that haplodeficiency of Kl in mice resulted in increased aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) expression, elevated plasma aldosterone and high blood pressure. This phenotype was presumed to result from diminished Kl expression in zona glomerulosa (zG) of the adrenal. To examine whether Kl expressed in zG is indeed...

The adrenal cortex is a dynamic organ that undergoes self-renewal. In the mouse it is divided into two concentric layers, the outer zona glomerulosa (ZG) and the inner zona fasciculata (ZF), that secrete aldosterone and corticosterone, respectively. Capsular and subcapsular stem/progenitor cells differentiate and migrate in a centripetal fashion to repopulate the gland until they reach the juxtamedullary region where they undergo senescence and apoptosis. Our lab has previousl...