Cytoplasmic filaments of Crooke's hyaline change belong to the cytokeratin class. An immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study.

Crooke's hyaline change was studied by immunocytochemistry using an anti-adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) antiserum and five different antisera against cytokeratins. Crooke's hyaline appears in basophil cells of the adenohypophysis in patients with hypercortisolism, presumably as a part of the negative feedback on corticotropin secretion. Previous studies have identified the hyaline material as a simple protein, apparently unrelated to ACTH, and electron microscopy has revealed a loss of secretory granules and an accumulation of 6-9-nm filaments in the cytoplasm of affected cells. In this study, the secretory granules in adenohypophysial cells exhibiting Crooke's hyaline change were labeled by anti-ACTH antibodies, while the hyaline material was positive for cytokeratin with each of the five antisera used. The results suggest that high levels of glucocorticoids may stimulate elaboration of cytokeratins in basophils while they suppress the production and release of ACTH.