Ye L X, Wang J X, Li P, Zhang X T
a College of Animal Science , Yangtze University , Jingzhou 434103 , P.R. China.
b Ostrich Research Institute , Yangtze University , Jingzhou 434103 , P.R. China.
Biotech Histochem. 2018;93(1):1-7. doi: 10.1080/10520295.2017.1372631. Epub 2017 Dec 7.
Ghrelin is the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. We investigated the distribution and morphological characteristics of ghrelin-immunopositive (ghrelin-ip) cells in the African ostrich adrenal gland. We found that the adrenal gland of the African ostrich consisted of three parts: capsule, inter-renal tissue and chromaffin cells. The inter-renal tissue and chromaffin cells interdigitated irregularly. The inter-renal tissue consisted of a peripheral zone and a central inner zone. The peripheral zone could be divided into an outer subcapsular zone and an inner zone. The subcapsular zone cells were arranged as a bow, while the inner area cells formed cords that were perpendicular to the capsule. The central inner zone exhibited irregular clumps and the cells were morphologically similar to chromaffin cells. Ghrelin-ip cells were located throughout the adrenal gland except the capsule. The majority of ghrelin-ip cells were found among the chromaffin cells. The number of ghrelin-ip cells in the inter-renal tissue decreased gradually from the central inner zone, to the inner zone to the subcapsular zone. The ghrelin-ip cells were oval or irregular in shape and exhibited cytoplasmic staining. Our findings suggest that ghrelin may play a role in regulating adrenal hormone secretion in the African ostrich.
胃饥饿素是生长激素促分泌素受体的内源性配体。我们研究了非洲鸵鸟肾上腺中胃饥饿素免疫阳性（ghrelin-ip）细胞的分布和形态特征。我们发现非洲鸵鸟的肾上腺由三部分组成：被膜、肾间组织和嗜铬细胞。肾间组织和嗜铬细胞不规则地相互交错。肾间组织由外周区和中央内区组成。外周区可分为外层被膜下区和内层区。被膜下区细胞呈弓形排列，而内层区细胞形成垂直于被膜的索状结构。中央内区呈现不规则的团块，细胞形态与嗜铬细胞相似。除被膜外，胃饥饿素免疫阳性细胞遍布整个肾上腺。大多数胃饥饿素免疫阳性细胞位于嗜铬细胞之间。肾间组织中胃饥饿素免疫阳性细胞的数量从中央内区到内层区再到被膜下区逐渐减少。胃饥饿素免疫阳性细胞呈椭圆形或不规则形，细胞质呈染色阳性。我们的研究结果表明，胃饥饿素可能在调节非洲鸵鸟肾上腺激素分泌中发挥作用。
