Endocrinology, Vol 114, 397-406, Copyright © 1984 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

The localization of gonadotrophs in normal adult male and female rats

MO Dada, GT Campbell and CA Blake

We investigated the localization of LH and FSH cells within the pituitary glands of normal adult rats. Groups of four female rats were decapitated at one of five different times during the estrous cycle. Four male rats were also decapitated. Paired horizontal flip-flopped serial paraplast sections from the dorsal, middle, and ventral portions of each pituitary gland were stained. For each pair, one section was stained with antirat LH-S4 and the other section with antirat FSH-S7, by the unlabeled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. All immunoreactive cells were counted, and the area of pars distalis in each section was determined. We studied the spatial distribution of gonadotrophs within the sections and determined if a polarization along the antero-posterior axis existed. In the "sex zone" of the pars distalis, the cross-sectional area of LH cells and the percentages of LH cells that also contained FSH and vice versa were determined and compared with those obtained from the entire pars distalis. Additional sections were stained for TSH, ACTH, GH, or PRL, and the distribution of stained cells was compared with that of those that stained for LH or LH/FSH, particularly in the sex zone and in the pars intermedia. The results indicate that 1) gonadotrophs are more evenly distributed dorsoventrally within the pars distalis of male rats than in that of female rats; 2) an antero-posterior polarity in gonadotropic distribution is more pronounced in male rats than in female rats; 3) gonadotrophs containing only LH are less numerous in male than female rats, and in the female tend to be centrally located within the pars distalis; 4) the sex zone contains PRL cells and gonadotrophs, and the percentages of gonadotrophs that contain LH or LH and FSH are not different from those of the entire pars distalis; 5) LH, and occasionally LH/FSH cells, are present between lobules of immunoreactive ACTH cells in the pars intermedia; and 6) LH cells in the pars intermedia are smaller than those in the sex zone or entire pars distalis.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. A. Blake and S. M. Helmke Proteomics of the Anterior Pituitary Gland as a Model for Studying the Physiology of a Heterogeneous Organ Experimental Biology and Medicine, December 1, 2005; 230(11): 793 - 799. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. M. Benoit, G. L. McCoy, and C. A. Blake Localization of Fertility Factor SP22 to Specific Cell Types Within the Anterior Pituitary Gland Experimental Biology and Medicine, November 1, 2005; 230(10): 721 - 730. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Nishihara, Y. Nagayama, S. Inoue, H. Hiroi, M. Muramatsu, S. Yamashita, and T. Koji Ontogenetic Changes in the Expression of Estrogen Receptor {alpha} and {beta} in Rat Pituitary Gland Detected by Immunohistochemistry Endocrinology, February 1, 2000; 141(2): 615 - 620. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. E. Wilson, R. H. Price Jr., and R. J. Handa Estrogen Receptor-{beta} Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression in the Pituitary Gland Endocrinology, December 1, 1998; 139(12): 5151 - 5156. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]