IMMUNOHISTOLOGICAL STUDY OF LH-IMMUNOREACTIVE CELLS IN THE PORCINE ANTERIOR-PITUITARY

Anterior pituitary glands were removed from 18 sows at different stage s of their estrous cycle to immunohistologically study the relationshi p between the stage of the estrous cycle and state of the luteinizing hormone (LH)-immunoreactive cells. The LH-immunoreactive cells were gr ouped into three types according to the amount of LH-immunoreactive gr anules stored in the cytoplasm(types A, B, and C). The number of LH-im munoreactive cells fluctuated along with the stage of the estrous cycl e. In the 1st and the 6th stages, numerous LH-immunoreactive cells wer e observed (398+/-39, 391+/-60 cells/l0(-2)mm(2), respectively). In th e 2nd stage, only a few cells were observed (6 cells/10(-2)mm(2)) and from the 3rd to the 5th stages, their number gradually increased.