Fenestrated endothelium of the adrenal gland: freeze-fracture studies.

Little is known of how adrenal hormones pass from the interstitial to the vascular space. We have begun to examine the adrenal endothelium as a barrier to hormone passage, by the freeze-fracturing technique. The endothelium of both cortex and medulla is fenestrated. Fractures from both regions show endothelial cells to be extremely thin in regions where fenestrations are abundant. En face fractures show fenestrae disposed in tracts; the fenestrae reaching a distribution of 35/mu2. In both cortex and medulla there are areas of continuous endothelium which contain caveolae. Structures believed to represent fenestra diaphragms contain randomly disposed particles and occasional pits. We have not identified in replicas the central ring and pore described in thin-sectioned material (Elfvin, 1965). The main differences between freeze-fractured aspects of cortical and medullary endothelium are the greater abundance of caveolae in the medulla and the size of the fenestrae (fenestra rims in the medulla are 525-780 A in diameter; in the cortex 570-1660 A). These differences may reflect the different embryological origins of the medulla and cortex. While caveolae may participate in hormone transport, there is no evidence for this. In the medulla the caveolae are more numerous and may have a function not necessarily related to transport. Possibly, caveolae play a role in processing hormones and related substances. For example, ATP and specific proteins are released as well as epinephrine during exocytosis from chromaffin cells. Epinephrine enters the vascular space but ATP does not. ATPase enzymes are a common feature of caveolae of other endothelia and may occur as well in adrenal endothelium.