[Functional activity of the adrenal cortex and thymus of mice of strains AKR, C57BL/6, C3H/He and C3Hf].

The authors studied the relationship between the functional activity of the adrenal cortex before and after the ACTH administration and the thymus mass in AKR, C57BL/6, C3H/He, and C3Hf mice. Blood 11-OCS level of these mice proved to differ in accordance with the differences in the 11-OCS production by the adrenal glands. There was revealed no expected inverse correlative dependence between the basal blood glucocorticoid content and the thymus mass. After ACTH administration the mouse species could be placed thus in order of increasing reaction of the thymus: AKR less than C3Hf less than C3H/He less than C57BL/6; this correlated positively with the level of 11-OCS production by the adrenal glands and basal 11-OCS concentration in the peripheral blood.