Effects of ovariectomy and estradiol administration on the adrenal macrophage system of the rat.

Macrophages of the adrenal cortex were studied in normal male and female, ovariectomized and estradiol-injected rats. In normal male rats few macrophages with numerous granules were observed in the zona fasciculatazona reticularis border, and in the zona reticularis. Granules, identified as lysosomes, were limited by a single membrane with a heterogeneous matrix; they exhibited acid phosphatase- and aminotriazole-resistant peroxidatic activities. A larger number of macrophages had identical distributions in normal female rats. In ovariectomized and estradiol-injected rats the number and distribution of adrenal macrophages were similar to those in normal females; however, in spayed animals the number of these cells in the zona reticularis was higher than in the other experimental groups. Lysosomes in macrophages of treated animals were more numerous and their contents more complex than in normal male animals. These results indicate that the adrenal macrophage system is stimulated in experimental conditions involving high levels of circulating estrogens.