[Adenylate- and guanylate cyclase systems in pathology of the adrenal glands]

The authors have summed up the results of a study of the activity of adenylate and guanylate cyclase system in the adrenals of patients with the Icenko-Cushing disease and syndrome and in the adrenals of experimental animals after unilateral adrenalectomy and in ACTH administration. It has been established that the biochemical mechanisms of compensatory hypertrophy of the adrenals in the normal and pathological tissue differ significantly. It has been shown for the first time that an increase in the basal activity of adenylate cyclase, resulting in the restoration of the initial hormonal level, is an obligatory condition for the compensation of organ function. Disorder in hormonal regulation of adenylate cyclase and diverse changes of the cyclase activity may indicate to the transition of tissue into a pathological state. Cyclic changes of the basal and stimulated activity of cyclases and protein kinases have been established for the first time in the adrenals of animals during administration of 2.5 units of ACTH for 5-40 days. The importance of detected changes in the mechanism of ACTH proliferative action is discussed.