Resynthesis of Catecliol Hormones in the Cat's Adrenal Medulla

Abstract

Repeated injections of nicotine tartrate in doses of 0.05–0.8 mg per kg in the cat cause a release of catechol amines in the adrenal venous blood, sometimes exceeding the loss in the gland compared with the control gland. The rapid resynthesis observed in some cases after nicotine injections was not observed when nicotine was infused over a period of 60–107 min in doses of 0.04–0.13 mg/kg/min. Increasing doses of nicotine within the dose range 0.1–0.4 mg/kg increased the release of adrenaline while doses of 0.8 mg/kg caused a rise also of noradrenaline. The release of catechol atmines during electrical stimulation uf the splanchnic nerve wts often considerably in excess of the loss in the stimulated gland. The maximal resynthesis of adrenaline corresponded to 325 μg per g gland and of noradrenalirie 745 μg per p gland.