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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Primary Culture of Rat Adrenocortical Cells and Assays of Steroidogenic Functions
Published on: March 12, 2019
Role of DHEA and growth factors in chromaffin cell proliferation
F Sicard1, A W Krug, C G Ziegler
1Department of Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Medical Clinic III, University of Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
Abstract:
Dehydroepiandrostreone (DHEA) is a neuroactive steroid produced by the inner layer of the adrenal cortex close to the adrenomedullary cells. Chromaffin cell growth and proliferation are under the control of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The aim of the present study was to examine the role of DHEA on chromaffin cell proliferation induced by IGF-II and bFGF. In our model, DHEA significantly decreased IGF-II-induced proliferation by 48.7%, whereas it did not affect the proliferation induced by bFGF. These data suggest that DHEA exerts a paracrine function in the control of chromaffin cell growth.
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