Relationship of Thymolytic and Glycogenic Activities of Adrenocorticoids

Abstract

Summary

In a 5-day bioassay, liver glycogen deposition and thymus involution were simultaneously determined in adrenalectomized, immature male rats. The mean index of precision (λ) for the thymus measurement was 0.150 ± 0.009, whereas the index for the glycogen measurement was 0.188 ± 0.009. Glycogenic and thymolytic efficacy ratios of 64 steroids of diverse chemical structure illustrated a strong relationship in these studies. In brief, steroids exhibiting a thymolytic potency equivalent to hydrocortisone, possessed liver glycogen activity averaging 40% higher and for compounds of greater potency the divergence was smaller, reaching zero when the relative thymolytic potency was about 16. Beyond this potency, a reversal was apparent, thus when the thymolytic potency was 100, liver glycogen activity was 75.