Tvilling Laura, West Mark, Glud Andreas N, Zaer Hamed, Sørensen Jens Christian H, Bjarkam Carsten Reidies, Orlowski Dariusz
CENSE, Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus University, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark.
Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital, 9100, Aalborg, Denmark.
Brain Struct Funct. 2021 Sep;226(7):2375-2386. doi: 10.1007/s00429-021-02337-1. Epub 2021 Jul 7.
The pituitary is involved in the regulation of endocrine homeostasis. Therefore, animal models of pituitary disease based on a thorough knowledge of pituitary anatomy are of great importance. Accordingly, we aimed to perform a qualitative and quantitative description of polypeptide hormone secreting cellular components of the Göttingen minipig adenohypophysis using immunohistochemistry and stereology. Estimates of the total number of cells immune-stained for adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), prolactin (PRL), and growth hormone (GH) were obtained with the optical fractionator technique using Stereo Investigator software. Moreover, 3D reconstructions of cell distribution were made. We estimated that the normal minipig adenohypophysis contains, on average, 5.6 million GH, 3.5 million PRL, and 2.4 million ACTH producing cells. The ACTH producing cells were widely distributed, while the PRL and GH producing cells were located in clusters in the central and lateral regions of the adenohypophysis. The morphology of the hormone producing cells also differs. We visualized a clear difference in the numerical density of hormone producing cells throughout the adenohypophysis. The relative proportions of the cells analyzed in our experiment are comparable to those observed in humans, primates, and rodents; however, the distribution of cells differs among species. The distribution of GH cells in the minipig is similar to that in humans, while the PRL and ACTH cell distributions differ. The volume of the pituitary is slightly smaller than that of humans. These data provide a framework for future large animal experimentation on pituitary function in health and disease.
垂体参与内分泌稳态的调节。因此，基于对垂体解剖学的深入了解建立的垂体疾病动物模型具有重要意义。相应地，我们旨在利用免疫组织化学和体视学方法对哥廷根小型猪腺垂体中分泌多肽激素的细胞成分进行定性和定量描述。使用Stereo Investigator软件，通过光学分选技术获得了促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）、催乳素（PRL）和生长激素（GH）免疫染色细胞总数的估计值。此外，还对细胞分布进行了三维重建。我们估计，正常小型猪腺垂体平均含有560万个生长激素分泌细胞、350万个催乳素分泌细胞和240万个促肾上腺皮质激素分泌细胞。促肾上腺皮质激素分泌细胞分布广泛，而催乳素和生长激素分泌细胞则成簇位于腺垂体的中央和外侧区域。激素分泌细胞的形态也有所不同。我们观察到整个腺垂体中激素分泌细胞的数量密度存在明显差异。我们实验中分析的细胞相对比例与在人类、灵长类动物和啮齿动物中观察到的比例相当；然而，细胞分布在不同物种之间存在差异。小型猪中生长激素细胞的分布与人类相似，而催乳素和促肾上腺皮质激素细胞的分布则不同。垂体的体积略小于人类。这些数据为未来关于健康和疾病状态下垂体功能的大型动物实验提供了一个框架。
