Autoradiographic evidence that zona glomerulosa and capsular vessels of the human adrenal cortex are provided with different subtypes of adrenomedullin receptors.

Frozen sections of normal adrenal glands, obtained from patients undergoing unilateral nephrectomy for kidney cancer, were labeled in vitro with human [125I]ADM(1-52). Autoradiography and quantitative densitometry showed the presence of abundant ADM(1-52) binding sites in both zona glomerulosa (ZG) and capsular vessels, which were displaced with about the same efficiency by cold ADM(1-52) and rat ADM(1-50). The selective calcitonin gene-related peptide type 1 (CGRPI) ligand CGRP(8-37) eliminated, although less efficiently than ADMs, [125I]ADM(1-52) binding in the ZG, but not in the capsular vessels. These findings suggest the existence of different receptor subtypes for ADM in the human adrenal cortex. The CGRP(8-37)-sensitive receptors located in the ZG may mediate the well-known inhibitory effect of ADM on aldosterone secretion, while the CGRP(8-37)-insensitive receptors present in the capsular vessel may be involved in the ADM-induced rise in adrenal blood flow.