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INCREASED PRODUCTION OF α‐MELANOCYTE‐STIMULATING HORMONE IN THE PITUITARY GLAND OF PATIENTS WITH UNTREATED ADDISON'S DISEASE

There is evidence that peptides related to α‐melanocyte‐stimulating hormone (α‐MSH) are involved in regulating the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal cortex in certain species. We have investigated the amount of immunoreactive (IR)‐ α‐MSH in the human pituitary gland of patients suffering from Addison's disease. We show increased numbers of cells containing demonstrable IR‐α‐MSH in the anterior lobe in these patients. Using an antiserum with specificity for the acetylated N‐terminus of α‐MSH we suggest that the major form present is desacetyl‐α‐MSH. These findings are in keeping with a role for anterior lobe derived desacetyl‐α‐MSH in the regulation of the human adrenal cortex.