Ontogeny and immunocytochemical differentiation of the pituitary gland in a sea turtle, Caretta caretta.

In the sea turtle Caretta caretta the dorsal wall of the pituitary anlage and the apex of the hypophyseal angle are derived from stomodeal epithelium adherent to the neural epithelium of the diencephalon; a substantial part of the ventral wall of the anlage is derived from epithelium of mixed origin (stomodeum and foregut). Distribution of immunoreactive cells in the embryonic gland suggests that pituitary peptide hormones (adrenocorticotropin, ACTH; melanotropin, MSH; prolactin, PRL; growth hormone, GH) are synthesized in cells from the dorsal wall, while cells producing glycoprotein hormones (luteinizing hormone, LH; thyrotropin, TSH) trace their lineage to ventral and ventrolateral areas of the anlage that include some endoderm. Mesenchymal movements mold the epithelial anlage in two steps, delineating first the posterior and subsequently the anterior area of the gland. During the former process the lateral lobes are defined, and material immunoreactive with antiserum to ACTH appears in epithelial cells of presumptive pars distalis (PD) and pars intermedia (PI). Delineation of the anterior end of the pituitary gland occurs as the hypophyseal stalk forms, approximately one-fourth through ontogenesis. Shortly thereafter, immunoreactions demonstrate synthetic activity of distinctively distributed cells containing ACTH, PRL, GH, LH and TSH. In Caretta the lateral lobes of the pituitary anlage give rise to a distinct layer of tissue around the PD (pars tuberalis interna, PTint) and a thick layer on the floor of the hypothalamus (juxtaneural pars tuberalis, juxPT). In the pituitaries of late embryos, juxPT tissue proximal to the PD contains many cells immunoreactive with LH antiserum; whereas cells in distal areas of the juxPT do not react with any antisera tested. LH-cells also occur in large numbers in the PTint and in the posterior PD where tissues of the partes tuberalis and distalis are continuous. Cells reactive with antiserum to TSH are found in small numbers in the PTint, and in larger numbers along with the LH-cells in the posterior PD. PRL-cells occur in the anterior PD, GH-cells in the posterior. ACTH-cells are found primarily in the anterior two-thirds of the PD.