Immunocytochemical identification of thyrotropin (TSH)-producing cells in pituitary glands of several species of teleosts with antiserum to human TSH beta subunit.

A rabbit antiserum raised against human thyrotropin (TSH) beta subunit (anti-human beta-TSH) was used to identify TSH cells in the pituitaries of five species of teleosts by means of the unlabeled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique. The anti-human beta-TSH reacted only with polygonal basophils located in the rostral pars distalis (RPD) in the pituitaries of sexually immature eel (Anguilla japonica). In the pituitaries of medaka (Oryzias latipes) and white-edged rockfish (Sebastes taczanowskii), this serum reacted specifically with only one cell-type located in the antero-dorsal proximal pars distalis (PPD) and antero-ventral PPD, respectively. In the pituitaries of two species of salmonids, sexually immature rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and sexually mature chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), the anti-human beta-TSH bound to the polygonal basophils in the ventral PPD adjacent to the RPD. Thus, the present immunocytochemical study identified polygonal basophils located in the RPD or PPD as TSH cells in five species of teleosts.