Distribution of cell types and aromatase activity in the sculpin (Myoxocephalus) pituitary.

Although aromatase activity is exceptionally high in the teleost pituitary, it is not known which of the secretory cell types are responsible. Pituitary glands from the longhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus) were sectioned transversely into "cephalic" and "caudal" fragments and cultured for 24 hr in medium containing [7-3H]androstenedione. Radiolabeled estrone and estradiol-17 beta production were measured as an estimate of aromatization. In order to determine the distribution pattern of different cell types, the in situ pituitary and dissected fragments were analyzed by standard cytological procedures. Further verification of cell function was obtained by somatostatin (SRIF) and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) immunocytochemistry. Estrogen yields obtained from caudal fragments in two separate experiments averaged four times higher per milligram protein than yields from matched cephalic fragments. In addition, female glands synthesized significantly more estrogen than those of males. Due to an anteroflexion of the longitudinal axis and a disposition of the gonadotropic (GTH) cells at the periphery of the gland and surrounding the neurointermediate lobe (NIL), the classical subdivisions of the teleost adenohypophysis were not strictly applicable to the sculpin. The predominance of growth hormone (GH) secreting cells in the caudal fragment suggests their participation in aromatization, a finding which is consistent with a previous study of rodent pituitary; however, a role for gonadotropes and other hypophysial cells in this transformation cannot be ruled out.