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Ultrastructural analysis of the action of reserpine on the brain neuroendocrine system of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella L., Lepidoptera

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Summary

This study concerns the influence of reserpine on the fine structure of peptidergic neurosecretory cells in the pars intercerebralis of Galleria mellonella, and of neurons containing smaller dense-cored vesicles (presumed to be aminergic) localized in the same area of the brain. The drug, administered in doses of 125 μm and 250 μg per g of insect body weight, reduces both the amount and the electron opacity of the dense-cored vesicles with a diameter of 60–80 nm in the neuronal perikarya as well as their terminals. Simultaneously, this treatment evokes an abnormal accumulation of secretory granules within the perikarya of peptidergic neurosecretory cells belonging to three types. This accumulation of secretory material is followed by some changes in the fine structure of these cells. One (fourth) type of neurosecretory cells seems to be insensitive to reserpine action. Participation of the aminergic system in the regulation of the secretory activity of some populations of peptidergic neurosecretory neurons of the insect brain is postulated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electron Microscope Laboratory, M. Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland

    S. Wartoń &  A. B. Dutkowski

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  1. S. Wartoń
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  2. A. B. Dutkowski
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The authors are grateful to Prof. S. Niemierko for a critical review of the manuscript and to Mrs. S. Głowacka, M.Sc., for participation in some experiments. We are also indebted for technical help to the engineering staff of the Laboratory. This study was supported by M. Curie-Skłodowska Fund grant FG-PO-367/JB-36

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Wartoń, S., Dutkowski, A.B. Ultrastructural analysis of the action of reserpine on the brain neuroendocrine system of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella L., Lepidoptera. Cell Tissue Res. 192, 143–155 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00231029

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