Morphological changes in the ultrastructure of the thyroid epithelium of Notophthalmus viridescens after hypophysectomy and TSH- and prolactin stimulation.

In the newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, hypophysectomy results in progressive atrophy of the thyroid cells to the point of irreversible degeneration. After exclusive TSH-stimulation of hypophysectomized newts, increased endocytotic activity of the follicular epithelium is observed. Prolactin stimulation under the same conditions prevents atrophy but does not result in increased cell activity, as expressed by the reduced amount of microvilli and the lack of endocytotic activity. Combined TSH- and prolactin stimulation also results in cell activation, but the activation level of exclusively TSH-stimulated cells is not reached. Although prolactin prevents cellular atrophy and degeneration of the follicular epithelium, it reduces the TSH-induced activation of the thyroid epithelium.