Strain differences in rabbit adrenocortical structure and morphological evidence of corticomedullary communication

Interstrain differences in the structure of the mouse and rat adrenal cortex are well known, but related data on rabbits are not available. This study was planned to demonstrate possible strain differences in rabbit adrenal morphology and morphological evidence of a communication between cortex and medulla. For this purpose, the zonation of the adrenal cortex of intact mature male and female rabbits of different strains (New Zealand, Chinchilla and California) were compared using morphometry and the corticomedullary junction was evaluated for close relationship. Marked intersex and interstrain differences were found in the adrenocortical zonation. Female rabbits had larger adrenocortical zones than corresponding males. The rabbits of Chinchilla and California strains had the largest cortical sizes. This difference depended largely upon the higher thickness of the zona fasciculata. Whereas, there were no significant strain differences in the thickness of zona glomerulosa and zona reticularis. Furthermore, examination of corticomedullary junction showed that cortex and medulla were interwoven. Single and small accumulations of cortical cells were spread throughout the medulla. Our morphological data showed the presence of significant interstrain differences in the adrenocortical zonation in the rabbits and provide evidence for a possible paracrine interaction between medullary and cortical cells.