HSD17B5 immunoreactivity in ZR became discernible and increased from around 9 years old. Adrenal androgen synthesizing type 5 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD17B5) was almost confined to ZR of human adrenals throughout development. The number of Bcl-2 positive cells increased in ZR and decreased in ZF during development. Results demonstrated that proliferative adrenocortical cells were predominantly detected in the zona glomerulosa (ZG) and partly in outer zona fasciculata (ZF) before 4 years old and in ZR after 4 years old but the number of these cells markedly decreased around 20 years old. We further evaluated immunoreactivity of both Ki67 and Bcl-2 in order to clarify the equilibrium between cell proliferation and apoptosis in the homeostasis of developing human adrenals. Results demonstrated that ZR became discernible around 4 years old, and both thickness and ratio per total cortex of ZR increased in an age-dependent fashion thereafter, although there was no significant increment in total thickness of developing adrenal cortex. Therefore, in this study, forty-four human young adrenal autopsy specimens retrieved from large archival files (n=252) were examined for immunohistochemical and morphometric analyses. Age-related morphologic development of the human adrenal zona reticularis (ZR) has not been well-examined.
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