Immunocytochemical labelling of isolated catfish pituitary gonadotrops with the protein A-gold method on epon sections

Abstract

The adenohypophysis of catfish and other teleosts consists of morphologically and functionally different cell types. Hormone synthesis and release in some of these cell types are controlled by similar hypothalamic peptidergic and aminergic systems. In vivo also blood-born steroids may directly and/or indirectly influence the activity of for example corticotropic and gonadotropic pituitary cells. Moreover, different adenohypophyseal cell types tend to influence each other via their respective hormones, both under in vivo and in vitro conditions. Consequently, to study the effect of each single control mechanism on hormone synthesis and release by a single cell type, it is necessary to use isolated cells. Confirmation of the identity of the isolated cell type is an important step in the procedure. The present study describes an ultrastructural method to confirm the isolation of gonadotropic cells from the pituitary of the African catfish, Clarias lasera