[Effects of GTW and T4 from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. on LH cells in male rat pituitary glands].

Using anti-beta-LH monoclonal antibodies, studies were undertaken to assess the effects of the glycosides (GTW) and T4 from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. on LH cells in male rat pituitary glands using immunohistochemical methods and ultrastructural observation. The results showed that there were more vacuoles in the cytoplasm of LH cells and the color density of immunohistochemical staining was much stronger in the treated groups than that in the control group. Electron microscopic results showed that the nulei of LH cells were shrunken and the Golgi complexes and the rough endoplasmic reticula were largely expanded in the treated groups. The mechanism of these changes is similar to that in "castration cells."