The metabolic requirements from catecholamine release from the adrenal medulla.

1. The metabolic requirements for catecholamine secretion elicited by acetylcholine or by calcium plus high K(+) were studied on acutely denervated perfused cat adrenal glands.2. Glucose-deprivation plus anoxia caused an increase in the spontaneous catecholamine output from adrenal glands perfused with normal Locke solution, which was abolished by the removal of calcium from the perfusion medium.3. Anoxia plus glucose-deprivation did not depress the secretory response to repeated exposures of a low concentration of acetylcholine, but did depress the response to a higher concentration of acetylcholine. Glucose-deprivation and nitrogen, when imposed either separately or together, did not inhibit total catecholamine output in response to calcium. Differential analysis of the calcium-evoked secretion showed that during anoxia, catecholamine output was maintained primarily by adrenaline secretion.4. Cyanide (0.2 mM) potentiated the secretory response to calcium in the presence of glucose, but when glucose was omitted from the perfusion medium, cyanide caused a gradual decline in calcium-evoked secretion. Iodoacetic acid (IAA) (0.2 mM) depressed the response to calcium by about 50% under aerobic conditions and by 90% under anaerobic conditions.5. The glycogen content of medullae was profoundly depleted under anoxic conditions.6. It is concluded that energy is required for the secretory action of calcium on medullary chromaffin cells. The energy may be derived from glycolysis or oxidative metabolism. A possible interaction between calcium and adenosine triphosphate acid (ATP) in eliciting catecholamine secretion is discussed.7. The alteration in the percent adrenaline and noradrenaline secreted during anoxia indicates that anoxia may regulate medullary catecholamine secretion through a peripheral, as well as a central mechanism.