ACTH accelerates the formation of cytoplasmic vacuoles in the adrenal cortex of androgen-treated rats.

The effect of simultaneous injections of ACTH and methylandrostenediol (MAD), a synthetic androgen, has been studied in the rat. ACTH accelerated the production of cytoplasmic vacuoles by MAD in as much as no such structures were observed in MAD-treated animals at 4 weeks. Adrenal weight was decreased in MAD-treated animals but restored to that of controls by ACTH (MAD plus ACTH group). ACTH by itself did not, however, cause the production of any vacuolar structures nor did it cause any reparation in the number of mitochondrial cristae which were considerably reduced in numbers after MAD plus ACTH.