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Immunohistochemical Distribution of Oestrogen Receptor and Luteinizing Hormone B Subunit in the Ovine Pituitary Gland During Foetal Development
Author(s) -
Sheng Cui,
Alan S. McNeilly,
Bo An
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of neuroendocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1365-2826
pISSN - 0953-8194
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2826.1998.00255.x
Subject(s) - endocrinology , medicine , immunohistochemistry , luteinizing hormone , pituitary gland , oestrogen receptor , biology , distribution (mathematics) , receptor , hormone , endocrine gland , mathematical analysis , mathematics , cancer , breast cancer
The presence of oestrogen receptor in the developing hypothalamo‐hypophyseal system is an essential prerequisite for the development of sex‐steroid feedback on gonadotrophin secretion. We have used dual immunocytochemistry to examine the ontogeny and regional distribution of oestrogen receptor and LH β subunit in the ovine pituitary gland during foetal development. At day 65 gestation (term=145 days) oestrogen receptor and LH β immunopositive cells are found in a small region at the base of the anterior pituitary gland, and also in a band immediately adjacent to the neurointermediate lobe. By day 100 gestation there was a significant increase in the number of immunopositive LH β cells accounting for around 12% of the total cell population, and these were widely distributed throughout the anterior pituitary gland. There was also a significant increase in the proportion of gonadotrophs which contain oestrogen receptor compared with day 65. By day 130 gestation the percentage of LH containing cells had declined to around 7% of the total population, but the proportion which also contained oestrogen receptor remained the same. There were no differences in the numbers or distribution of cells containing LH or oestrogen receptors between male and female foetuses, at any age. These data describing a parallel change in the number of oestrogen receptors and LH β containing cells in the pituitary gland throughout gestation suggest that the development of pituitary sex‐steroid feedback is not solely dependent on changes in the numbers of oestrogen receptor containing cells alone.