Impact of Hydrocortisone and of CRH Infusion on the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis of Septic Male Mice.

Treatment of sepsis with HC impaired integrity and function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis at the level of the pituitary and the adrenal cortex while CRH restored pituitary POMC processing without affecting the adrenal cortex. Sepsis-induced high-circulating POMC may be responsible for ongoing adrenocortical steroidogenesis despite low ACTH.