We have detected in bovine adrenal glands hitherto unsuspected non-polar compounds which yield free steroids upon treatment with alkali. The steroids that are already known to exist in the form of these lipoidal derivatives are: pregnenolone, 17-hydroxypregnenolone and dehydroisoandrosterone. The occurrence of these derivatives reveals a new and potentially important facet of steroid hormone biochemistry. In this project it is our objective to extend this biochemical finding as far as it is possible to project now so that we may determine the role these derivatives play in endocrine biochemistry. Our long term goal is to relate these substances and their functions to normal and pathological states. The experiments proposed in this application are designed to investigation the nature, synthesis and metabolism of these newly recognized steroidal constituents of the adrenal. Until the properties of these lipoidal derivatives are better known, our understanding of the relationship of adrenal hormones to physiological and pathological states will remain incomplete. To the extent that our knowledge is imperfect, so the capacity to deal effectively with many of mankind's illnesses is impaired. Diseases of the adrenal, per se, as well as diseases associated with other parts of the body often are intimately involved with the steroidal secretions of the adrenal cortex. Among the most prevalent diseases for which this is true are hypertension, diabetes, some collagen diseases, some forms of cancer, etc. The precise understanding of the nature and function of all the adrenal secretions is essential for the alleviation of many of these afflictions.
