Immunoreactive TSH cells in the pituitary of female middle-aged rats after treatment with estradiol or calcium.

The pituitary TSH cell structure of middle-aged (14-month-old) female Wistar rats chronically treated with estradiol dipropionate (EDP), calcium glucoheptonate (Ca) or with the combination of both was studied. TSH-producing cells were examined in the pituitary pars distalis using rabbit anti-rat beta-thyrotropin (TSH) serum and peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemistry. A stereological method for the determination of morphometric changes of the volume of TSH cells and nuclei as well as of their number and relative volume densities was used. All examined morphometric parameters in treated animals showed a significant decrease in comparison with immunoreactive TSH cells of the controls; the most significant decrease was observed in EDP-treated rats. These results together with structural features of immunoreactive TSH cells in the pituitary of middle-aged rats after chronic application of EDP or Ca indicate that both compounds inhibit these cells.