Identification of Immunoreactive Luteinizing Hormone Receptors in the Adrenal Cortex of the Female Rhesus Macaque

Abstract

Female laboratory macaques were studied under a variety of treatment protocols to determine if immunoreactive luteinizing hormone/gonadal chorionic gonadotropin (LH/CG) receptors were present in the adrenal cortex. All adrenal tissues revealed an absence of immunoreactivity in the in the medulla while staining was present in all three outer zones of the cortex. Increased staining was observed in the zonae reticularis with least staining in the zonae glomerulosa. Moderate and variable staining was found in the zonae fasciculata. These results demonstrate that LH/CG receptors in the adrenal cortex may be more common in higher primates than previously recognized and help explain some aspects of the endocrine changes observed in mid-aged women during the menopausal transition when circulating LH concentrations are rising.

Keywords: LH receptors; adrenal steroids; menopause.