Immunofluorescence localization of glycoprotein hormones in the rat anterior pituitary gland using monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal antisera.

A hybridoma-derived monoclonal mouse antibody against bovine luteinizing hormone (LH) cross-reacting with rat LH and conventional polyclonal rabbit antisera against rat follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were used for the localization of the cells producing these hormones in rat pituitary glands by the immunofluorescence double staining technique. This approach enables the simultaneous identification of two different hormones on a single tissue section. It was shown that LH and FSH are produced within the same cell type, whereas TSH is synthesized by a different cell.