Lactotrophs, as many other endocrine cells, change their morphology in response to factors influencing their secretory activity. Secretion of prolactin (PRL) from lactotrophs, like that of other anterior pituitary hormones, is under the control of the hypothalamus. Unlike most anterior pituitary hormones, PRL has no apparent target gland which could modulate the endocrine activity of lactotrophs. It is generally agreed that PRL regulates its own release from lactotrophs via the short loop negative feedback mechanism exerted at the level of the hypothalamus or the pituitary. Accordingly, ultrastructural morphology of lactotrophs is not constant; it is changing in response to high PRL levels showing signs of suppressed hormone synthesis and secretion.By transmission electron microscopy and morphometry, we have studied the morphology of lactotrophs in nontumorous (NT) portions of 7 human pituitaries containing PRL-secreting adenoma; these lactotrophs were exposed to abnormally high PRL levels.
