Recovery of adrenal ultrastructure after cessation of androgen treatment.

Female, uninephrectomized rats injected with methylandrostenediol became hypertensive by 4 weeks of treatment. After cessation of treatment, blood pressure continued to rise during the first week but gradually decreased below the borderline of hypertension by 5 weeks. After methylandrostenediol treatment for 4 weeks and after 1 week of recovery, adrenocortical fine structure exhibited a number of abnormalities including reduced numbers of mitochondrial cristae, hypertrophic smooth endoplasmic reticulum, microfilaments and large lipid vacuoles within zona reticularis cells. During an intermediate period of recovery (2 weeks), mitochondrial cristae increased in number, although animals remained hypertensive. After 2 weeks, all of the ultrastructural abnormalities seen at early and intermediate periods of recovery were fully reversed, concomitant with a return of systolic blood pressure to below hypertensive levels.