Proliferative activity of adrenal glands with adrenocortical cytomegaly measured by MIB-1 labeling index.

To investigate the proliferative activity of cytomegalic cells in the fetal adrenal cortex, we studied adrenal glands with cytomegaly by immunohistochemistry using the nuclear proliferation maker MIB-1. The percentage of positively stained nuclei was quantified using the SAMBA 4000 image analysis system. Only one case showed occasional positively stained cytomegalic cell nuclei. The permanent cortices showed proliferative activity that decreased with increasing gestational age. No proliferative activity was seen in normal fetal cortices except in one case that received corticosteroid therapy and had a maternal history of diabetes. The near absence of proliferative activity of the cytomegalic cells supports the previously proposed theory of cellular exhaustion following hyperactivity. The high proliferative activity in the fetal cortex of the infant receiving corticosteroid therapy may provide insight into the stimulus causing the hypermetabolic state.