Distribution and coregulation of three peptide receptors in adrenals.

Receptors sites for angiotensin II and atrial natriuretic factor were concentrated in the zone glomerulosa of the adrenal cortex in the rat, mouse, hamster, rhesus monkey, guinea-pig and the cow. Angiotensin Ii receptor sites were also accumulated in adrenal medullary tissue of the rat, mouse and the hamster. With exception of the cow the zonae fasciculata and reticulata of the adrenal cortex were not labelled with the angiotensin II ligand, but showed a moderate density of atrial natriuretic factor receptor sites in all species except the rhesus monkey. In comparison, somatostatin receptors were even more heterogeneously distributed in all species mentioned above. In the rat, the increased growth of zona glomerulosa cells found after three weeks of sodium deprivation was accompanied by a similar increase in number of receptor sites for angiotensin II, atrial natriuretic factor and somatostatin. This shows that all three peptide receptors are regulated simultaneously by a single metabolic disturbance, suggesting that they might be localized on the same cell type in the adrenal cortex.