LH-IMMUNOREACTIVITY AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL-CHANGES IN THE PITUITARY-GLAND OF POST-CASTRATED RATS - QUANTITATIVE AND MORPHOLOGIC STUDIES

At 1-d postcastration of Bmo-old rats, LH-immunoreactive (in) cells we re not hypertrophied in the female pituitary gland but a few LH-IR cel ls were hypertrophied in that of males. At 2-d postcastration, a few L H-IR cells were hypertrophied in the female pituitary gland and contai ned small cytoplasmic vacuoles in males. At 4-d postcastration, a few hypertrophied LH-IR cells contained a few small cytoplasmic vacuoles i n the female pituitary gland and contained coalesced vacuoles in males . At 7-d postcastration, numerous hypertrophied LH-IR cells contained a few small cytoplasmic vacuoles In the female pituitary gland and con tained coalesced vacuoles in males. At 14-d postcastration, a large nu mber of hypertrophied LH-IR cells contained numerous cytoplasmic vacuo les in the female pituitary gland and had become arranged in irregular , interconnecting cords in males. At the electron microscopic level, c isternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) were slightly dilate d in non-hypertrophied gonadotrophs of the female pituitary gland but moderately dilated in hypertrophied gonadotrophs of males at 1-d postc astration. At 2-d postcastration, cisternae of the RER were slightly d ilated in hypertrophied gonadotrophs of the female pituitary gland and moderately dilated in those of males. At 4-d postcastration, cisterna e of the RER were moderately dilated in hypertrophied gonadotrophs of the female pituitary gland and had coalesced in those of males. At 7-d postcastration, cisternae of the RER remained moderately dilated in h ypertrophied gonadotrophs of the female pituitary gland and had coales ced and markedly dilated in those of males. At 14-d postcastration, ci sternae of the RER were similar to those in hypertrophied gonadotrophs of female and male pituitary glands at 7-d postcastration. Most of th e secretory granules were small in size but a few large ones were also present in the cytoplasm of female and male hypertrophied gonadotroph s.