Abstract
Immunohistochemical localization of lutropin β (LHβ) and follitropin β (FSHβ) in the pituitary gland of the frog Rana japonica was studied by the peroxidase-anti-peroxidase method and the two-face, double-labeling method with different-sized gold particles at the light-and electron-microscopic levels, respectively, using monoclonal antibodies against bullfrog LHβ and FSHβ. Light-microscopic immunohistochemistry indicated that approximately 66.0% of all the gonadotrophs in the pituitary contained both LHβ and FSHβ, whereas 33.4% of gonadotrophs contained only LHβ, and 0.6% contained only FSHβ. The staining intensity of LHβ and FSHβ varied from cell to cell. The gonadotrophs were classified into four types (Types I–IV) in terms of their ultrastructural and immunolabeling characteristics. Moreover, several secretory granule types were recognized according to differences in their shape and electron density. In all the cell types, both LHβ and FSHβ were often seen in the same secretory granules, but the proportion of granules bearing both hormones ranged from 5.5% in Type I to 32.7% in Type IV. Most secretory granules in Types I and II were immunolabeled with LHβ alone, whereas a small number of granules were immunolabeled with FSHβ alone. More immunolabeled FSHβ granules were present in Types III and IV than in Types I and II.
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Mizutani, F., Iwasawa, H. & Tanaka, S. A morphometric analysis of the subcellular distribution of LHβ and FSHβ in secretory granules in the pituitary gonadotrophs of the frog (Rana japonica). Cell Tissue Res 277, 417–426 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300214
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300214