Vascular networks and endothelial cells in the rat experimental pituitary glands and in the human pituitary adenomas.

There has been considerable interest in the relationship between hormone-secreting endocrine cells (HSEC) and their microvessels (MVN) in human pituitary gland. However, microcirculatory networks have rarely been studied in three dimensions (3D). Therefore, this study was designed to visualize and to reveal the relationship between hormone secreting endocrine cells and their microvessel environment including vascular endothelial cells in 3D using rat pituitary glands under various experimental conditions by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). By CLSM, the 3D distributions of MVN were visualized and revealed a relationship between HSEC and MVN in experimental pituitary glands and human pituitary adenomas. Therefore, 3D reconstructed imaging by CLSM is a useful technique with which to investigate the microvessel environment of hormone-secreting cells and has the potential to reveal dynamic hormone-secreting pathways. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.