Effects of steroid hormones on cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate levels in the rat lung

Abstract

The possible role of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in mediating the action of steroid hormones was investigated using the rat lung. Male rats were adrenalectomized and treated with olive oil, dexamethasone, corticosterone, deoxycorticosterone (DOC) or progesterone. At the end of 10 days, 100 micrograms isoprenaline/kg was injected intraperitoneally 5 min before the animals were killed to stimulate cAMP production. Adrenalectomy significantly decreased cAMP levels in the rat lung. Dexamethasone and corticosterone pretreatment reversed the effect of adrenalectomy whereas progesterone pretreatment but not DOC pretreatment significantly decreased lung cAMP levels. Cyclic AMP levels in normal female rats, whether pregnant or not, were not significantly different from those in male rats. We concluded that the absence of glucocorticoid, as after adrenalectomy, decreased the cAMP levels in rat lungs and that this could be reversed by either dexamethasone or corticosterone replacement. Progesterone reduced the cAMP content in rat lungs by acting as a glucocorticoid antagonist or by acting directly via progesterone receptors.

Endogenous Sulfur Dioxide Improves the Survival Rate of Sepsis by Improving the Oxidative Stress Response during Lung Injury

“…Though clinical technology develops fast, the high morbidity and mortality of sepsis is still a major problem [6,7]. Previous studies have shown that septic lung injury can lead to the interaction of cAMP and various hormone levels, resulting in changes in lung tissue structure [8][9][10][11][12]. In this study, the survival rate of 40 SD rats was studied through the CLP sepsis model.…”