Studies on isolated rat adrenal cells

Research during the past few decades has resulted in detailed knowledge on the production of steroid hormones in the adrenal gland, but the picture is still far from complete. Hardly anything is known about the function of the human fetal adrenal gland which contains a specific fetal zone present only in man and some higher primates. The biochemistry of the inborn errors occurring in adrenal steroidogenesis is also poorly understood. A very intriguing step in the biosynthesis of steroids is the conversion of cholesterol into pregnenolone. This cholesterol side-chain cleaving process is common to the biDsynthetic pathways for all steroid hormones. Furthermore, hormonal regulation of steroid production almost exclusively takes place at this site. The exact mechanism of the sideqhain cleaving process is still uncertain.