The adrenal cortex functions to produce steroid hormones necessary for life. To maintain its functional capacity throughout life, the adrenal cortex must be continually replenished and rapidly repaired following injury. Moreover, the adrenal responds to endocrine-mediated organismal needs, which are highly dynamic and necessitate a precise steroidogenic response. To meet these diverse needs, the adrenal employs multiple cell populations with stem cell function. Here, we discuss the literature on adrenocortical stem cells using hematopoietic stem cells as a benchmark to examine the functional capacity of particular cell populations, including those located in the capsule and peripheral cortex. These populations are coordinately regulated by paracrine and endocrine signaling mechanisms, and display remarkable plasticity to adapt to different physiological and pathological conditions. Some populations also exhibit sex-specific activity, which contributes to highly divergent proliferation rates between sexes. Understanding mechanisms that govern adrenocortical renewal has broad implications for both regenerative medicine and cancer.

肾上腺皮质的功能是产生生命所必需的类固醇激素。为了在一生中保持其功能能力，肾上腺皮质必须在受伤后不断得到补充和快速修复。此外，肾上腺对内分泌介导的机体需求有反应，这是高度动态的，需要精确的类固醇生成反应。为了满足这些不同的需求，肾上腺采用了多种具有干细胞功能的细胞群。在这里，我们讨论了使用造血干细胞作为基准来检查特定细胞群（包括位于胶囊和外周皮层中的细胞群）的功能能力的肾上腺皮质干细胞的文献。这些种群受到旁分泌和内分泌信号机制的协调调控，并显示出显着的可塑性，以适应不同的生理和病理条件。一些种群还表现出性别特异性活动，这导致了两性之间高度不同的增殖率。了解控制肾上腺皮质更新的机制对再生医学和癌症具有广泛的意义。