BIOASSAY OF ADRENAL CORTICAL STEROIDS ON THE BASIS OF ELECTROLYTE EXCRETION BY RATS: EFFECTS OF 11-DESOXY and 11-OXY-STEROIDS1

THERE has been a recent increase of interest in the measurement of electrolyte activity of the adrenal cortical steroids. Studies have been made not only on the role of the known steroids in fluid and electrolyte regulation, but also on the question of what electrolyte-active compounds are secreted by the adrenal cortex and appear in blood and in urine. Methods of bioassay, based on the effects of steroids on sodium and potassium excretion, have been used in the detection of a highly active corticoid in adrenal cortical extract and adrenal vein blood (Grundy, Simpson, Tait, and Woodford, 1952). A similar corticoid has been found to appear in unusual quantity in the urine of certain patients with edema (Luetscher and Johnson, 1953). The increased sodium-retaining activity of urine extracts from these edematous patients has been observed to decrease when diuresis was induced (Luetscher and Deming, 1950; Luetscher, Deming and Johnson, 1951).