scholarly journals Claudin-9 constitutes tight junctions of folliculo-stellate cells in the anterior pituitary gland

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuko Y. Higashi ◽  
Tomohito Higashi ◽  
Kyoko Furuse ◽  
Kana Ozeki ◽  
Mikio Furuse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Tight Junctions ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Endocrine Cells ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Molecular Profile ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Cell Functions ◽  
Pituitary Glands

AbstractThe anterior pituitary gland regulates growth, metabolism, and reproduction by secreting hormones. Folliculo-stellate (FS) cells are non-endocrine cells located among hormone-producing cells in the anterior pituitary glands. They form follicular lumens, which are sealed by tight junctions (TJs). Although FS cells are hypothesized to contribute to fine-tuning of endocrine cells, little is known about the exact roles of FS cells. Here, we investigated the molecular composition of TJs in FS cells. We demonstrated that occludin is a good marker for TJs in the pituitary gland and examined the structure of the lumens surrounded by FS cells. We also found that claudin-9 is a major component of TJs in the FS cells. In immunoelectron microscopy, claudin-9 was specifically localized at TJs of the FS cells. The expression of claudin-9 was gradually increased in the pituitary gland after birth, suggesting that claudin-9 is developmentally regulated and performs some specific functions on the paracellular barrier of follicles in the pituitary gland. Furthermore, we found that angulin-1, angulin-2, and tricellulin are localized at the tricellular contacts of the FS cells. Our findings provide a first comprehensive molecular profile of TJs in the FS cells, and may lead us towards unveiling the FS cell functions.

Posttranscriptional regulation of rat growth hormone gene expression: increased message stability and nuclear polyadenylation accompany thyroid hormone depletion

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2624-2632
Author(s):  
D Murphy ◽  
K Pardy ◽  
V Seah ◽  
D Carter
Keyword(s):  
Growth Hormone ◽  
Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Posttranscriptional Regulation ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Growth Hormone Gene ◽  
Gh Gene ◽  
Rat Growth ◽  
Pituitary Glands

In thyroid hormone-depleted rats, the rate of transcription of the growth hormone (GH) gene in the anterior pituitary gland is lower than the rate in euthyroid controls, and there is a corresponding reduction in the abundance of the GH mRNA. Concomitantly, the poly(A) tail of the GH mRNA increases in length. Examination of nuclear RNA from anterior pituitary glands of control and thyroid hormone-depleted rats revealed no difference in the length of pre-mRNAs containing the first and last introns of the GH gene. However, mature nuclear GH RNA is differentially polyadenylated in euthyroid and hypothyroid animals. We suggest that the extent of polyadenylation of the GH transcript is regulated in the cell nucleus concomitant with or subsequent to the splicing of the pre-mRNA. Experiments with anterior pituitary gland explant cultures demonstrated that the GH mRNA from thyroid hormone-depleted rats is more stable than its euthyroid counterpart and that the poly(A) tail may contribute to the differential stability of free GH ribonucleoproteins.

scholarly journals Gonadotrope Plasticity at Cellular and Population Levels

Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (10) ◽  
pp. 4729-4739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahara Alim ◽  
Cheryl Hartshorn ◽  
Oliver Mai ◽  
Iain Stitt ◽  
Colin Clay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Model Animal ◽  
Pituitary Glands ◽  
Acute Changes

Abstract Hormone-secreting cells within the anterior pituitary gland may form organized and interdigitated networks that adapt to changing endocrine conditions in different physiological contexts. For gonadotropes, this might reflect a strategy to cope with acute changes throughout different female reproductive stages. The current study examined gonadotropes in female mice at characteristically different hormonal stages: prepubertal, postpubertal, and lactating. Gonadotrope plasticity was examined at the level of the whole population and single cells at different stages by imaging both fixed and live pituitary slices. The use of a model animal providing for the identification of selectively fluorescent gonadotropes allowed the particular advantage of defining cellular plasticity specifically for gonadotropes. In vivo analyses of gonadotropes relative to vasculature showed significantly different gonadotrope distributions across physiological states. Video microscopy studies using live slices ex vivo demonstrated pituitary cell plasticity in the form of movements and protrusions in response to GnRH. As positive feedback from rising estradiol levels is important for priming the anterior pituitary gland for the LH surge, experiments provide evidence of estradiol effects on GnRH signaling in gonadotropes. The experiments presented herein provide new insight into potential plasticity of gonadotropes within the anterior pituitary glands of female mice.

scholarly journals Diabetes and Hypercholesterolemia Impair the Cytological Structure of the Anterior Pituitary Gland

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 649-658
Author(s):  
Ahmed MR Abdo ◽  
Mohamed E El-Beeh ◽  
Sameer H. Qari ◽  
Dina A El-badry ◽  
Hassan IH El-Sayyad
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Secretory Granules ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Anterior Lobe ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Albino Rats ◽  
Pituitary Glands ◽  
Cytological Picture

Increase consumption of high fat diet was found to alter blood sugar level similar to diabetes and contributed to the development of obesity and affected the reproductive function of both sexes. The study aimed to clarify the influence of diabetes and or hypercholesterolemia on the cytological picture of cells of the anterior lobe of pituitary gland of male albino rats. Eighteen male albino rats weighing approximately 120 gram body weight were divided into three main groups; control, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes (single i.p. 40 mg streptozotocin/kg B.wt plus 100mg. nicotinamide /kg body weight) and hypercholesterolemia (diet containing 3% cholesterol). Dietary feeding on cholesterol and diabetes were carried out for 12 weeks. At the end of treatment, animals were sacrificed, and pituitary glands were separated and their anterior lobe was processed for cytological investigations by transmission electron microscopy. The present study revealed that the rats subjected to experimental diabetes and/ or hypercholesterolemia exhibited a decrease of the secretory granules within the gonadotroph cells somatotroph and corticotrophin cells. There was a detected intracellular accumulation of fat globules in both the gonado- and sommatotroph cells. The authors reported that the altered cytological structures of the secretory function of the anterior pituitary gland led to marked impairment of the male hormonal level and causing infertility.

Multiple species of follicle-stimulating hormone exist within the anterior pituitary gland of male golden hamsters

1982 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Ulloa-Aguirre ◽  
S. C. Chappel
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Isoelectric Point ◽  
Receptor Binding ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Hormone Secretion ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Con A ◽  
Pituitary Glands ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Gel Isoelectric Focusing

Anterior pituitary glands were collected from immature and mature (intact and castrated) male hamsters. The various species of FSH present within these glands were separated by Concanavalin A (Con A) chromatography and polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing (PAG-IEF) and measured by a specific FSH radioimmunoassay (RIA) as well as a radioreceptor assay (RRA). Two distinct forms of FSH (Con A unbound and bound) were separated by Con A chromatography and detected by both RIA and RRA. These two populations of FSH were present within anterior pituitary glands of all three animal models tested. Castration before collection of anterior pituitary glands reduced the ratio of Con A unbound: bound immunoreactive FSH. When measured by RRA this reduction was not observed. When homogenates of anterior pituitary glands obtained from mature animals were separated by PAG-IEF, six distinct species of FSH were observed by RIA with isoelectric points (pI) of 6·0, 5·7, 5·3, 5·0, 4·7 and 4·2–3·8. Homogenates of anterior pituitary glands obtained from immature male hamsters did not contain one of these species of FSH (pI value, 4·7). The relative contribution of some of the species of FSH to the total amount of detectable FSH differed depending upon the endocrine status of the animal. The species with pI value of 4·2–3·8 did not show any receptor-binding activity in any of the three models studied. The overall ratio of the activity of FSH measured by RRA compared with RIA was highest in anterior pituitary glands from intact mature and immature hamsters and lowest in anterior pituitary glands obtained from castrated animals. The RRA: RIA ratio for each species of FSH in all models tested declined as the isoelectric point of that species decreased. Thus, these results demonstrated the presence of multiple species of FSH within the anterior pituitary glands of immature and mature male hamsters. The relative proportions and receptor-binding activities of these species differed according to the isoelectric point and the pattern of hormone secretion at the time of collection of pituitary glands. Gonadal and other endocrine factors may influence not only the relative amount of each species of FSH but also the receptor-binding capacity of the FSH species synthesized by the anterior pituitary gland.

Relationships among release of prolactin, synthesis of DNA and growth of the anterior pituitary gland of the rat: effects of oestrogen and sulpiride

1982 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Jahn ◽  
G. A. Machiavelli ◽  
L. E. Kalbermann ◽  
I. Szijan ◽  
G. E. Alonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Single Injection ◽  
Serum Levels ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Maximum Increase ◽  
End Of Treatment ◽  
Pituitary Glands ◽  
Prolactin Synthesis

The effect of daily injections of sulpiride was compared with that of a single injection of the drug in male rats which had been treated with oestradiol diundecenoate for various periods of time. We studied the effect of the different treatments on weight of the pituitary gland, concentration of prolactin and incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA in the pituitary gland and on serum levels of prolactin. Administration of the oestrogen produced a marked increase in the synthesis of DNA at day 7. The stimulation diminished at day 21 and was not significant at day 45. The maximum increase in the concentration of prolactin in serum and pituitary glands was observed during the first 7 days (approximately 400 and 150% respectively) and in the weight of the anterior pituitary gland after 21 days of treatment (approximately 107%). A single injection of sulpiride markedly stimulated the release of prolactin and the synthesis of DNA at day 7. Both these effects diminished at day 21 and disappeared by day 45. Daily injections of sulpiride also produced similar changes in the release of prolactin and in the replication of DNA. The growth of the anterior pituitary gland was greater in this group than in the rats which had been treated with oestradiol diundecenoate only. After the end of treatment with oestrogen and sulpiride the pituitary weight and the concentration of prolactin in the anterior pituitary gland diminished together with levels of prolactin and oestrogen in serum. There was a good correlation between weight of the gland and serum levels of prolactin. The results further support the idea of a mechanism which controls the proliferation of lactotrophs in which the release of the hormone is accompanied by an increase in pituitary DNA synthesis.

Alteration by thyrotrophin-releasing hormone of heterogeneous components associated with thyrotrophin biosynthesis in the rat anterior pituitary gland

1984 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mori ◽  
M. Murakami ◽  
T. Iriuchijima ◽  
H. Ishihara ◽  
I. Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Thyrotrophin Releasing Hormone ◽  
Releasing Hormone ◽  
Pituitary Glands

ABSTRACT An influence of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) on TSH heterogeneity in close association with de-novo biosynthesis was studied in rat anterior pituitary glands. Hemipituitary glands from adult male rats were incubated in Krebs–Henseleit–glucose media containing [3H]glucosamine and [14C]alanine for 3 and 6 h in the presence or absence of 10 ng TRH per ml. Fractions of TSH in the pituitary extracts were obtained using affinity chromatography coupled with an anti-rat TSH globulin. These TSH fractions were analysed by isoelectric focusing. The control pituitary glands were composed of four component peaks (isoelectric point (pI) 8·7, 7·8, 5·3 and 2·5) of [3H]glucosamine and [14C]alanine incorporated into TSH, and the amounts of radioactivity of these components were increased with the incubation time. Of these peaks, radioactive components of pI 8·7 and 7·8 coincided with the non-radioactive TSH components measured by radioimmunoassay. Addition of TRH increased incorporation of [14C]alanine into TSH in each of the components to a greater extent than that of [3H]glucosamine. In addition, new components with pI 7·2, 6·5 and 6·2, each component corresponding to each unlabelled TSH component, were demonstrated in the presence of TRH. Because addition of TRH did not change the amounts of [14C]alanine-labelled TSH in the media, the newly formed components were assumed to be connected with protein synthesis occurring in the anterior pituitary gland, which may be specific substances in response to TRH administration. These results indicate that TRH principally elicits an increase in protein synthesis in TSH at the anterior pituitary level, resulting in an alteration of TSH heterogeneity. J. Endocr. (1984) 103, 165–171

Occurrence of rare somatomammotrophs in ovine anterior pituitary tissue studied by immunogold labelling and electron microscopy

1990 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-NP ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Thorpe ◽  
K. P. Ray ◽  
M. Wallis
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Immunogold Labelling ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
The Other ◽  
Double Labelling ◽  
Pituitary Tissue ◽  
Pituitary Glands ◽  
Male Animal

ABSTRACT Prolactin and GH are distinct hormones that have been conventionally thought to be produced and secreted by separate cells in the anterior pituitary gland. Recently it has been suggested that some cells (somatomammotrophs) may secrete both hormones. We have examined the occurrence of somatomammotrophs in sheep anterior pituitary tissue using immunogold labelling. Of a number of procedures used, double labelling using first antibodies raised in different species proved the least susceptible to apparent co-localization of hormones due to artifacts. Using this approach it was shown that a large proportion of the cells in the sheep anterior pituitary glands examined were mammotrophs or somatotrophs, showing no significant co-localization of GH and prolactin. Of 1800 cells examined, only two were somatomammotrophs. One of these, from a female animal, contained GH and prolactin in different granules within the same cell. The other, from a male animal, showed co-localization of these two hormones within the same granules. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 124,67–73

scholarly journals Posttranscriptional regulation of rat growth hormone gene expression: increased message stability and nuclear polyadenylation accompany thyroid hormone depletion.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2624-2632 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Murphy ◽  
K Pardy ◽  
V Seah ◽  
D Carter
Keyword(s):  
Growth Hormone ◽  
Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Posttranscriptional Regulation ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Growth Hormone Gene ◽  
Gh Gene ◽  
Rat Growth ◽  
Pituitary Glands

In thyroid hormone-depleted rats, the rate of transcription of the growth hormone (GH) gene in the anterior pituitary gland is lower than the rate in euthyroid controls, and there is a corresponding reduction in the abundance of the GH mRNA. Concomitantly, the poly(A) tail of the GH mRNA increases in length. Examination of nuclear RNA from anterior pituitary glands of control and thyroid hormone-depleted rats revealed no difference in the length of pre-mRNAs containing the first and last introns of the GH gene. However, mature nuclear GH RNA is differentially polyadenylated in euthyroid and hypothyroid animals. We suggest that the extent of polyadenylation of the GH transcript is regulated in the cell nucleus concomitant with or subsequent to the splicing of the pre-mRNA. Experiments with anterior pituitary gland explant cultures demonstrated that the GH mRNA from thyroid hormone-depleted rats is more stable than its euthyroid counterpart and that the poly(A) tail may contribute to the differential stability of free GH ribonucleoproteins.

scholarly journals Reversibility, Body Weight and Histo-architectural Alterations in the Anterior Pituitary Gland of Aqueous Azadirachta indica Extract Fed Wistar Rats

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
P. R. C. Esegbue ◽  
A. J. Uyovwiesevwa ◽  
G. T. Olowe ◽  
O. A. Udi
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Azadirachta Indica ◽  
Anterior Pituitary ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Anterior Pituitary Gland ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tissue Separation ◽  
Group I ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Pituitary Glands

Several studies have reported the importance of neem plant (Azadirachta indica) with results showing it to be both medicinal and pharmacological in the property. However, little or no available record(s) relates its effect on body weights and the anterior pituitary gland. Consequently, the current study investigated the effect of aqueous extract Azadirachta indica on the anterior pituitary gland using Wistar rats as an experimental model. Twelve (12) healthy male Wistar rats of between 130 – 150 g were grouped as follows; Group I (normal control) received normal rat feed ad libitum, experimental groups II and III received normal feed + 200 mg/kg and normal feed + 300 mg/kg of aqueous leave extract of Azadirachta indica respectively. For each group, Body weights were checked weekly for a total of three (3) weeks. At the end of the experiments, the animals were sacrificed, and histology of the pituitary glands was assessed. Result in a statistically insignificant increase (p< 0.05) in body weights of control compared with experimental rats, with mild observational elevation in pituitary histo-architecture for experimental compared to the control group. Thus, reversal weights are very supportive factors of Wistar rats and the histological effect of Azadirachta indica on the anterior pituitary gland in Wistar rats. The study also observed axonic fibres (using H and E x 10) with neural tissues in 200 mg/kg extract-treated rats, implicating an increase in cellularity, mild vascular congestion and tissue separation on Wistar rats.

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