An immunoelectron-microscopic and morphometric study was carried out on the anterior pituitary prolactin (PRL) cells of adult male Wistar rats treated with a combination of thyroidectomy and administration of L-thyroxine (T4) and/or synthetic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) in order to clarify the effects of changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis on the ultrastructure and function of PRL cells. After thyroidectomy
PRL cells underwent atrophy and hypofunction of their cell organelles
but these changes tended to be restored to their normal level by T4 treatment. On the other hand
the administration of TRH to intact rats produced hypertrophy and hyperfunction in the PRL cells
although this treatment had no effect on the PRL cells of thyroidectomized rats. However
treatment with a combination of T4 and TRH had a strong effect and led to hypertrophy and hyperfunction in the PRL cells of thyroidectomized rats. Serum and pituitary PRL levels were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) for a comparison with the morphological results. They correlated well with the morphological changes. These results indicate that TRH stimulates PRL secretion in the presence of thyroid hormone
and that the thyroid hormone plays an important role in the basic maintenance of PRL cell function and its reactivity to TRH.
