Bioactive and immunoreactive adrenocorticotropin in normal equine pituitary and in pituitary tumors of horses with Cushing's disease.

Equine Cushing's disease is caused by hypersecretion of ACTH by hyperplasia or adenomas of pars intermedia (PI) cells, in contrast to human Cushing's disease, which is caused by hyperplasia or adenomas of pars distalis (PD) ACTH-secreting cells. We assayed both bioactive and immunoreactive (IR) ACTH in two normal equine pituitary glands and in the PD, PI, and pars nervosa of four such glands, as well as in the PI adenomas of five horses with Cushing's disease. In normal horse pituitaries, as in those of other species, most of the bioactive and IR-ACTH was found in PD, much less in PI, and only traces in pars nervosa. In PI adenomas of horses with Cushing's disease, bioactive ACTH concentrations were similar to those in normal PI, but the total tumor content of bioactive ACTH exceeded that of normal whole pituitary. IR-ACTH concentrations were even higher in PI tumors, suggesting that some of the tumor ACTH was biologically inactive. Plasma IR-ACTH, which, like the PI adenoma tissue, presumably included a major fraction of bioactive ACTH, was greatly elevated in five horses with Cushing's disease and would account for the adrenal hyperplasia and hyperfunction observed in these animals.