Suppression of Anterior Pituitary in Rats Bearing a Transplantable Growth Hormone and Prolactin-Secreting Tumor (MtT-WlO)1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Involution occurred in somatotrophs and mammotrophs in the anterior pituitary of animals bearing a transplantable tumor secreting large amounts of growth hormone and prolactin. The weight of the pituitary was reduced significantly 5 weeks after tumor implantation. A quantitative study of pituitary cells was essential inasmuch as size of secretory granules, one of the most useful criteria for identification of cell types, became smaller. Involutionary changes in somatotrophs were observable at 4 weeks and consisted of smaller cells and fewer secretory granules. The size of granules decreased from 345 ± 5 mμ for controls to 257 ± 5 mμ for tumor—bearing animals at 5 weeks. In mammotrophs, no change in either the size of the cell or number of granules per cell was observed. The size of granules decreased from 550 ± 14 mμ for controls to 420 ± 12 mμ in tumor—bearing animals at 5 weeks. Immature granules in mammotrophs first decreased significantly at 3 weeks. A lysosomal mechanism does not seem to be the dominant mechanism for remodeling of cells inasmuch as no appreciable increase in lysosomal structures was observable. (Endocrinology92: 516, 1973)

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: