In vivo and in vitro evidence for the production of inhibin-like immunoreactivity in human adrenocortical adenomas and normal adrenal glands: relatively high secretion from adenomas manifesting Cushing's syndrome.

To clarify whether adrenal gland secretes inhibin in vivo in physiological or pathological conditions, we measured the levels of inhibin-like immunoreactivity (inhibin-LI) in adrenal veins (A-vein) and compared them with those in inferior vena cava (IVC) using blood samples obtained at catheterization of adrenal vein in the patients with adrenal adenoma manifesting Cushing's syndrome (Cs), aldosterone-producing adenoma, clinically non-functioning adenoma and normal adrenal gland. The tumor sides of A-veins in the patients with adenomas and also both sides of A-veins in subjects with normal adrenal glands showed significantly higher contents of inhibin-LI than their IVC. When the inhibin-LI secretion rate from adrenal gland was estimated by the difference between the levels of A-vein (tumor side) and IVC, Cs adenomas showed the highest secretion rate. Similarly, the tissue inhibin-LI content and the basal secretion rate of inhibit-LI from primary cultured cells were the highest in Cs adenomas. These findings indicated that normal adrenal glands and adrenocortical adenomas produced and secreted inhibin-LI into the general circulation in vivo and Cs adenomas have relatively high capacity for secreting inhibin-LI, and the present study provided the first in vivo evidence for adrenal inhibin-LI production in pathological conditions.