Quantitative changes in rat pituitary neurosecretory material in altered adrenocortical function

• DOI: 10.1007/bf01226810
• Publication Date: 2005-02-25T19:41:04Z
• Authors: J. Groot; J. E. Hartfield
• Keywords: Pituitary Gland, Posterior; Pituitary Gland; Adrenal Cortex

The concentration of CAH-positive (“neurosecretory”) material in the infundibular process was studied as a function of time, by means of an objective, photodensitometric method, in rats subjected to: brief faradic stimulation, splenectomy, bilateral adrenalectomy, or adrenal enucleation. A slight (10%) initial depletion (most rapid after faradization), followed by return to normal levels within 24 hours, was observed in all four experiments. A marked (25%) secondary depletion, 2 weeks post-operatively, characterized the animals with regenerating adrenals, to the exclusion of the other surgically treated groups. In a discussion of these results, no conclusion could be drawn concerning a possible relationship between histologically observable neurosecretory material in the neural lobe, and pituitary-adrenocortical activation.