Summary
Ultrastructural and cytochemical observations on neurosecretory neurons of the rat supraoptico-posthypophyseal systems were made under experimental conditions which resulted in striking changes in the amount of neurosecretory granules and lysosomes. Attention was focused on granulolysis. At the onset of rehydration following a 4 days water deprivation, very active autophagy took place in neurosecretory axons of the neural lobe involving the marked increase in smooth endoplasmic reticulum, microvesicles and neurosecretory granules, although the latter were still very few due to previous depletion. When axonal transport was inhibited by colchicine at the onset of rehydration, granules accumulated in the perikarya while granule reloading of the neural lobe was delayed. However autophagy, although always active in axons, remained scarce in perikarya. Moreover, in the latter there was only slight evidence of crinophagy. Hypophysectomy also induced granule accumulation in the perikarya, although accompanied by little granulolysis. Images indicative of crinophagy as shown by acid phosphatase localization were few and exclusively restricted to perikarya, while autophagy occurred essentially in axons. Autophagy appeared to be the predominant process for granulolysis and might be considered here as an aspect of the general turnover of cell constituents, related to the sudden regression of hyperactivity-induced hyperthrophy, rather than as an expression of a specific regulation of an excess of secretory material.
Résumé
Les images ultrastructurales et cytochimiques de l'activité sécrétrice et lysosomiale des neurones neurosécréteurs supraoptico-posthypophysaires du rat ont été observées dans des circonstances où le nombre des grains de neurosécrétat et des lysosomes varient fortement. Au début de la réhydratation, après privation d'eau de 4 J, se développe dans les axones du lobe postérieur de l'hypophyse, plus ou moins vides de leurs grains, une autophagie intense. Elle intéresse surtout le réticulum lisse, abondant à ce stade, des microvésicules et des grains, bien que ces derniers soient encore peu nombreux. Si, à la reprise de la boisson, le transport axonal est inhibé par la colchicine, les grains s'accumulent dans les périkaryons, et le lobe postérieur ne se recharge pas. Toutefois l'autophagie, toujours intense dans les axones, reste très faible dans les périkaryons où la crinophagie n'est pas évidente. L'hypophysectomie induit également une charge granulaire des périkaryons, sans granulolyse importante; la mise en évidence des phosphatases acides fournit quelques images de crinophagie possible. Ce mécanisme est localisé exclusivement dans les périkaryons et l'autophagie essentiellement dans les axones. L'autophagie paraît constituer le mode de granulolyse prédominant et doit être considérée ici comme un des aspects du turnover des constituants cellulaires, signifiant un arrêt brusque d'une hypertrophie par hyperfonctionnement, plutôt que comme la régulation spécifique d'un excès de sécrétion.
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Dedicated to Professor Dr. Drs. h.c. W. Bargmann on the occasion of his 70th birthday
Acknowledgments. This work was supported in part by a grant from the INSERM (C.R.L. n∘ 73 10 917). The authors wish to thank Mrs. J. Bottini for typing the manuscript, Mr. C. Cataldo for photographical assistance and Mr. A. Olivi for handling and care of the animals
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Boudier, JA., Picard, D. Granulolysis in neurosecretory neurons of the rat supraoptico-posthypophyseal system. Cell Tissue Res. 172, 39–58 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226048
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226048