The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute (a single injection) and chronic stimulation (twice daily injection for 9 days) by ACTH on changes occurring in the temporal expression of steroidogenic enzymes in the rat adrenal in vivo. Under acute ACTH stimulation, the level of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) messenger RNA (mRNA) was increased within 0.5 h in both zona glomerulosa (ZG) and zona fasciculata-reticularis (ZFR), with maximal increases of 220 -370% and 300 -350% in the ZG and ZFR, respectively. Increases in the levels of StAR protein in homogenates were also found in the ZG (700%) and the ZFR (300%), but were delayed compared with those of their mRNA. Furthermore, the increase in mitochondrial StAR protein was concomitant with that in the homogenate, indicating that the entry of StAR into mitochondria might not be necessary to increase steroidogenesis during the early stimulatory phase. The levels of c-jun, c-fos, junB, and fosB mRNA in ZG and ZFR were also rapidly maximally elevated within 0.5-1 h after ACTH administration and fell to near control levels 5 h posttreatment. The levels of c-jun protein were already increased in both zones at 1 h, reached 200% at 3 h, and remained elevated 5 h post-ACTH treatment. The levels of c-Fos protein were maximally increased by 240% in both zones after 1 h and decreased thereafter to control values at 5 h. Few changes were observed in the adrenal protein contents of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 (P450scc), cytochrome P450 11-hydroxylase (P450C11), cytochrome P450 21-hydroxylase (P450C21), and 3-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3HSD). Under chronic stimulation by ACTH, we observed elevations in the levels of plasma corticosteroids and changes in the mRNA and protein levels of many adrenal steroidogenic enzymes in both zones. In the ZG, administration of ACTH for 9 days provoked an increase in the level of StAR mRNA (210 -270%) and a decrease in the levels of 3HSD, cytochrome P450 aldosterone synthase (P450aldo), and AT 1 receptor mRNA (by 40%, 70%, and 90%, respectively), whereas the levels of P450scc and P450C21 mRNA did not differ significantly from the control values. Western blotting analysis showed that the adrenal ZG protein levels of StAR and P450scc were increased (150%), 3HSD was not changed, and P450C21 was decreased by 70%. In the ZFR, the levels of P450scc and StAR mRNAs were increased (260% and 570 -870%, respectively). The levels of 3HSD, P450C21, and P450C11 mRNA did not differ from control values in that zone. Western blotting analysis showed that the ZFR protein level of 3HSD was not changed, P450scc and P450C21 were decreased by 40% and 60%, respectively, and StAR was increased by 160%. Although c-fos and fosB mRNAs were undetectable after 9 days of chronic ACTH treatment, c-jun mRNA and its protein were still detectable, suggesting a basic role for this protooncogene in maintaining the integrity and function of the adrenal cortex. When dexamethasone was administered to rats for 5 days...